6181 Bobweber

6181 Bobweber, provisional designation 1986 RW, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 September 1986, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California, and named after astronomer Robert Weber.[2]

6181 Bobweber
Discovery [1]
Discovered byE. F. Helin
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date6 September 1986
Designations
(6181) Bobweber
Named after
Robert Weber
(astronomer)[2]
1986 RW · 1979 YU8
1990 WL2
main-belt · (inner) [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc62.59 yr (22,860 days)
Aphelion3.0105 AU
Perihelion1.8500 AU
2.4302 AU
Eccentricity0.2388
3.79 yr (1,384 days)
30.628°
0° 15m 36.72s / day
Inclination7.5690°
303.65°
93.589°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.458±0.056 km[4]
4.488±0.046 km[5]
5.66 km (calculated)[3]
2.7576±0.0001 h[6]
2.75796±0.00003 h[lower-alpha 1]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
0.4210±0.0447[5]
0.425±0.038[4]
S [3]
13.3[5] · 13.6[1][3]

    Orbit and classification

    The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,384 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1954, which extended the asteroid's observation arc by 32 years prior to its discovery observation.[2]

    Physical characteristics

    Rotation period

    A rotational lightcurve of Bobweber was obtained from photometric observations by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at Ondřejov Observatory in December 2009. It gave a well-defined rotation period of 2.75796±0.00003 hours with a brightness variation of 0.12 in magnitude (U=3).[lower-alpha 1] In January 2014, astronomer Julian Oey at the Australian Blue Mountains Observatory (Q68) obtained a nearly identical period of 2.7576±0.0001 hours with an amplitude of 0.15 magnitude (U=3-).[6]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Bobweber measures 4.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.42 and 0.43, respectively,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 5.7 kilometers.[3]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named in memory of Robert Weber (1926–2008), physicist and discoverer of minor planets at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, developer of the Deep Space Satellite Tracking Network. He also co-developed and was credited with the first discoveries made by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site at White Sands Missile Range in Socorro, New Mexico. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 21 March 2008 (M.P.C. 62353).[2][7]

    Notes
    1. Pravec (2009): lightcurve plot of (6181) Bobweber, with a rotation period 2.75796±0.00003 hours and a brightness amplitude of 0.12 mag. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (2009)

    References
    1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 6181 Bobweber (1986 RW)" (2016-10-28 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
    2. "6181 Bobweber (1986 RW)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    3. "LCDB Data for (6181) Bobweber". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    4. 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.
    5. Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
    6. Oey, Julian (January 2016). "Lightcurve Analysis of Asteroids from Blue Mountains Observatory in 2014". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 43 (1): 45–51. Bibcode:2016MPBu...43...45O. ISSN 1052-8091.
    7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
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