7336 Saunders

7336 Saunders
Discovery [1]
Discovered by E. F. Helin
Discovery site Palomar Obs.
Discovery date 6 September 1989
Designations
MPC designation 7336 Saunders
Named after
 R. Stephen Saunders
(JPL scientist)[2]
1989 RS1
Amor · NEO [1]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 28.05 yr (10,247 days)
Aphelion 3.4155 AU
Perihelion 1.1969 AU
2.3062 AU
Eccentricity 0.4810
3.50 yr (1,279 days)
241.16°
0° 16m 53.04s / day
Inclination 7.1956°
174.50°
181.44°
Earth MOID 0.1915 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 0.467 km (derived)[3]
6 h[4]
6.423±0.004 h[lower-alpha 1]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
SMASS = Sq [1] · S [3]
18.0[4]
18.45±0.2 (R)[lower-alpha 1]
18.8[1]
19.02±0.112[3][5]

    7336 Saunders, provisional designation 1989 RS1, is a stony asteroid classified as near-Earth object of the Amor group of asteroids, approximately 0.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 September 1989, by American female astronomer Eleanor Helin at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.[6]

    The S-type asteroid is classified as a Sq-type in the SMASS taxonomy. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.2–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,279 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.48 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at the Australian Siding Spring Observatory in 1982, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 7 years prior to its discovery.[6] It has a minimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 0.1915 AU (28,600,000 km).[3]

    The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 467 meters, based on an absolute magnitude of 19.02.[3] In October 1989, the first photometric observations for this asteroid were made with the ESO 1-metre telescope at La Silla in Chile.[4] It gave a rotation period of 6 hours with a brightness variation of 0.3 magnitude (U=2). Another rotational light-curve was obtained by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at Ondřejov Observatory in August 2003, giving a period of 6.423±0.004 and an amplitude of 0.2 magnitude (U=n.a.).[lower-alpha 1]

    The minor planet was named in honor of JPL-project scientist R. Stephen Saunders (b. 1940), director of the RPIF and head scientist of the Solar System Exploration Office. He worked on the Mars Surveyor 2001/03 program and on the Magellan spacecraft, that visited and mapped Venus in 1990.[2] Naming citation was published on 26 July 2000 (M.P.C. 41028).[7]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Pravec (2003) web: rotation period 6.423±0.004 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.2 mag. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) for (6181) Bobweber and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (2003)
    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 7336 Saunders (1989 RS1)" (2010-11-09 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (7336) Saunders. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 591. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (7336) Saunders". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 Hoffmann, Martin; Rebhan, Helge; Neukum, Gerhard; Geyer, Edward H. (January 1993). "Photometric observations of four near-earth asteroids". Acta Astronomica: 61–67. Bibcode:1993AcA....43...61H. ISSN 0001-5237. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    5. ↑ Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    6. 1 2 "7336 Saunders (1989 RS1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    7. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 September 2016.

    External links

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