39890 Bobstephens
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Pravec |
| Discovery site | Ondřejov Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 March 1998 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | (39890) Bobstephens |
|
Named after
|
Robert D. Stephens (astronomer) |
| 1998 FA3 | |
| main-belt · (middle) | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 21.03 yr (7,682 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.1534 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0295 AU |
| 2.5914 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2168 |
| 4.17 yr (1,524 days) | |
| 154.21° | |
| 0° 14m 10.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.4949° |
| 161.74° | |
| 95.738° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.06 km (calculated) |
| 9.55±0.01 h | |
| 0.20 (assumed) | |
| S | |
| 15.8 · 15.9 | |
39890 Bobstephens, provisional designation 1998 FA3, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 23 March 1998, by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at Ondřejov Observatory near Prague in the Czech Republic.
Bobstephens is a S-type asteroid and orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,524 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first imaged at Steward Observatory in 1995. This precovery extends the body's observation arc by 3 years prior to its official discovery observation.
In August 2008, a rotational light-curve of Bobstephens was obtained from photometric observations by American amateur astronomer Daniel Coley at the Center for Solar System Studies in California. Light-curve analysis gave a rotation period of 9.55 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20 magnitude (U=2).
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.06 kilometers, using an absolute magnitude of 15.8.
This minor planet was named for well-known Californian amateur astronomer Robert D. Stephens (b. 1955), who is an expert in light-curve photometry of minor planets since 1999. Naming citation was published on 24 July 2002 (M.P.C. 46112).
...
Wikipedia