84882 Table Mountain

84882 Table Mountain
Discovery [1]
Discovered by J. W. Young
Discovery site Table Mountain Obs.
Discovery date 1 February 2003
Designations
MPC designation (84882) Table Mountain
Named after
 Table Mountain Observatory
(discovering observatory)[2]
2003 CN16 · 1997 UB9
main-belt
background
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 19.50 yr (7,124 days)
Aphelion 3.4104 AU
Perihelion 1.8645 AU
2.6375 AU
Eccentricity 0.2931
4.28 yr (1,565 days)
232.98°
0° 13m 48.36s / day
Inclination 13.863°
20.513°
349.60°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
 3.023±3.023 km[3]
5±2 km (calculated)[4]
0.306±0.075[3]
14.7[1]

    84882 Table Mountain, provisional designation 2003 CN16, is a bright background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 February 2003, by American astronomer James Whitney Young at the Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, California.[5] The asteroid was later named after the discovering observatory.[2]

    Orbit and classification

    Table Mountain is a non-family from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 1.9–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,565 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.29 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It was first identified as 1997 UB9 at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in 1997, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 6 years prior to its official discovery observation.[5]

    Physical characteristics

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Table Mountain measures 3.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.306.[3] The asteroid's generic diameter measures between 3 and 7 kilometers, based on an assumed albedo in the range of 0.05–0.25 and an absolute magnitude of 14.7.[4]

    As of 2018, the asteroid's composition, rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][6]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named for the Table Mountain Observatory, the discoverer's workplace, currently a NASA facility operated by the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which began operation as a Smithsonian Institution site in 1924 to study the solar constant. In the late 1950s, the site was used to test the first solar panels and is now dedicated to optical astronomy and to study Earth's atmosphere.[2] The approved citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 October 2004 (M.P.C. 52955).[7]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 84882 Table Mountain (2003 CN16)" (2017-05-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (84882) Table Mountain, Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 234. ISBN 978-3-540-34361-5. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
    4. 1 2 "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS – NASA/JPL. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
    5. 1 2 "84882 Table Mountain (2003 CN16)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
    6. ↑ "LCDB Data for (84882) Table Mountain". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 28 June 2017.
    7. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 July 2016.

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