116903 Jeromeapt

116903 Jeromeapt
Discovery [1]
Discovered by J. W. Young
Discovery site Table Mountain Obs.
Discovery date 11 April 2004
Designations
MPC designation (116903) Jeromeapt
Named after
 Jerome Apt [2]
(American astronaut)
2004 GW · 2001 RS104
main-belt · inner
Massalia [3]
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 15.03 yr (5,488 days)
Aphelion 2.8747 AU
Perihelion 2.0256 AU
2.4502 AU
Eccentricity 0.1733
3.84 yr (1,401 days)
110.99°
0° 15m 25.2s / day
Inclination 1.5341°
147.08°
128.89°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 1 km (generic at 0.20)[4]
17.3[1]

    116903 Jeromeapt, provisional designation 2004 GW, is a Massalian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 1 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered on 11 April 2004, by American astronomer Jim Young at the Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, California, in the United States. The asteroid was named for American astronaut Jerome Apt.[2]

    Orbit and classification

    Jeromeapt is a member of the Massalia family (404),[3] a large family of stony S-type asteroids with low inclinations. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,401 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The asteroid's observation arc begins more than 2 years prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken at the Steward Observatory in 2002.[2]

    Physical characteristics

    Based on an absolute magnitude of 17.3,[1] Jeromeapt measure between 1 and 2 kilometers in diameter, assuming an albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25.[4] Since asteroids in the inner main-belt are often of a silicaceous rather than of a carbonaceous composition, with higher albedos, typically around 0.20, the asteroid's diameter might be on the lower end of NASA's published conversion table, as the higher the body's reflectivity (albedo), the smaller its diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).[4]

    As of 2017, the asteroid's effective size, its composition and albedo, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][5]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named in honor of American Jerome Apt (born 1949), who was the discovering observatory's director and also an astronaut on 4 Space Shuttle missions in the 1990s. At the time of naming this asteroid, he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center 29 October 2012 (M.P.C. 81070).[6]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 116903 Jeromeapt (2004 GW)" (2015-02-17 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 4 "116903 Jeromeapt (2004 GW)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
    3. 1 2 "Small Bodies Data Ferret". Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
    4. 1 2 3 "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
    5. ↑ "LCDB Data for (116903) Jeromeapt". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 28 June 2017.
    6. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
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