3131 Mason-Dixon

3131 Mason–Dixon (prov. designation: 1982 BM1) is a Koronian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 24 January 1982, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Arizona, United States.[1] The likely S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 19.7 hours and measures approximately 14 kilometers (9 miles) in diameter.[7] It was named for English astronomers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon.[1]

3131 Mason-Dixon
Mason-Dixon modeled from its lightcurve
Discovery [1]
Discovered byE. Bowell
Discovery siteAnderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date24 January 1982
Designations
(3131) Mason-Dixon
Named after
Charles Mason [1]
Jeremiah Dixon
(English astronomers)
1982 BM1 · 1962 CK
1975 XS2 · 1977 DB3
1979 OS16 · 1979 QJ6
A922 DC
main-belt [1][2] · (outer)
Koronis [3][4][5]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc63.82 yr (23,311 d)
Aphelion3.0505 AU
Perihelion2.7940 AU
2.9222 AU
Eccentricity0.0439
5.00 yr (1,825 d)
118.17°
0° 11m 50.28s / day
Inclination2.4041°
44.734°
147.18°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
14 km (est. at 0.15)[6]
19.748±0.0537 h[7][8]
0.15 (family albedo)[9]
S (family based)[9]
12.0[1][2]

    Orbit and classification
    Orbital diagram of Mason–Dixon

    Mason–Dixon is a core member of the Koronis family (605),[3][4][5] a very large asteroid family of almost 6,000 known asteroids with nearly co-planar ecliptical orbits.[9] It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.1 AU once every 5 years (1,825 days; semi-major axis of 2.92 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]

    The body was first observed at Heidelberg Observatory in February 1922. Its observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in July 1954.[1] On 1 February 1907, Mason–Dixon made a close approach to one of the larger asteroids, 52 Europa. At its closest, it passed Europa within 1.1 million kilometers.

    Naming

    This minor planet was named by the discoverer in memory of English astronomers Charles Mason (1728–1786) and Jeremiah Dixon (1733–1779), who observed the 1761 transit of Venus from the Cape of Good Hope. Between 1763 and 1767 they surveyed the so-called Mason–Dixon line, the boundary between the US States of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 June 1986 (M.P.C. 10847).[10]

    Physical characteristics

    The asteroid's spectral type has not been determined.[3] Due its membership to the stony Koronis family, Mason–Dixon is likely a common S-type asteroid.[9]:23

    Rotation period

    In January 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Mason–Dixon was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 19.748±0.0537 hours with a high brightness variation of 0.70 magnitude (U=2), indicative of an elongated, non-spherical shape.[8] Another fragmentary lightcurve by Maurice Clark at Preston Gott Observatory in September 2014 gave a less accurate period of 10.20 hours with an amplitude of 0.75 magnitude.[11]

    Diameter and albedo

    Assuming a typical albedo of 0.15 for members of the Koronis family,[9]:23 Mason–Dixon measures 14 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.00.[2][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of a carbonaceous asteroid of 0.057 and consequently calculates a larger diameter of 18.6 kilometers.[7]

    References
    1. "3131 Mason-Dixon (1982 BM1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
    2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3131 Mason-Dixon (1982 BM1)" (2018-05-25 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
    3. "Asteroid 3131 Mason-Dixon". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
    4. "Asteroid (3131) Mason-Dixon". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
    5. Zappalà, V.; Bendjoya, Ph.; Cellino, A.; Farinella, P.; Froeschle, C. (1997). "Asteroid Dynamical Families". NASA Planetary Data System: EAR-A-5-DDR-FAMILY-V4.1. Retrieved 4 March 2020.} (PDS main page)
    6. "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
    7. "LCDB Data for (3131) Mason-Dixon". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 5 December 2018.
    8. Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75.
    9. Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families. Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
    10. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
    11. Clark, Maurice (July 2015). "Asteroid Photometry from the Preston Gott Observatory". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 42 (3): 163–166. Bibcode:2015MPBu...42..163C. ISSN 1052-8091.
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