2131 Mayall (1975 RA) is an inner main-belt asteroid discovered on September 3, 1975, by Arnold Klemola at the Lick Observatory and named in honor of Nicholas U. Mayall (1906–1993), director of the Kitt Peak National Observatory during 1960–1971, who also worked at Lick for many years.[1][2] It is about 8 km (~5 miles) in diameter.[6]
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. R. Klemola |
| Discovery site | Lick Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 September 1975 |
| Designations | |
| (2131) Mayall | |
Named after | Nicholas Mayall[2] |
| 1975 RA | |
| main-belt · (inner) | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.05 yr (14,994 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.0970 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.6775 AU |
| 1.8873 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1111 |
| 2.59 yr (947 days) | |
| 78.045° | |
| 0° 22m 48.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 33.987° |
| 306.05° | |
| 38.552° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.8 km (IRAS:3)[3] 8.252±0.040[4] |
| 2.5678 h[5] | |
| 0.2391±0.031 (IRAS:3)[3] 0.244±0.019[4] | |
| S (Tholen)[1] S (SMASS)[1] S [5] B–V = 0.871[1] U–B = 0.450[1] | |
| 12.72[1] | |
Photometric measurements of the asteroid made in 2005 at the Palmer Divide Observatory showed a light curve with a period of 2.572 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.08 ± 0.02 in magnitude.[7]
This led to a follow-up investigation in 2006, when another light curve was recorded.[6] These observations did not indicate a binary asteroid type, but did add to the data set available for this asteroid; this asteroid is part of the Hungaria group.[6]
See also
- Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope (telescope named after the same astronomer)
References
External links
- Lightcurve plot of 2131 Mayall, Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2009)
- Asteroids with Satellites, Robert Johnston, johnstonsarchive.net
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 2131 Mayall at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 2131 Mayall at the JPL Small-Body Database
