6460 Bassano, provisional designation 1992 UK6, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 26 October 1992, by Italian amateur astronomers Ulisse Quadri and Luca Strabla at the Bassano Bresciano Observatory in northern Italy.[7] It was named for the Italian village of Bassano Bresciano.[2]

6460 Bassano
Discovery [1]
Discovered byU. Quadri
L. Strabla
Discovery siteBassano Bresciano Obs.
Discovery date26 October 1992
Designations
(6460) Bassano
Named after
Bassano Bresciano
(Italian village)[2]
1992 UK6 · 1985 TR2
1989 YM6
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc31.43 yr (11,481 days)
Aphelion2.4975 AU
Perihelion2.0183 AU
2.2579 AU
Eccentricity0.1061
3.39 yr (1,239 days)
43.163°
0° 17m 25.8s / day
Inclination3.2269°
299.03°
181.72°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.252±0.108 km[4][5]
4.94 km (calculated)[3]
2.9131±0.0034 h[6]
2.9145±0.0034 h[3]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
0.389±0.048[4][5]
S[3]
13.5[4] · 13.576±0.002 (R)[6] · 13.7[1][3] · 14.291±0.003 (S)[6]

Orbit and classification edit

The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. Bassano orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,239 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

In October 1985, it was first identified as 1985 TR2 at the French Caussols Observatory, extending the body's observation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery observation at Bassano Bresciano.[7]

Physical characteristics edit

Rotation period edit

Two rotational lightcurves of Bassano were obtained from photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in August 2012. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 2.9145 and 2.9131 hours with a brightness variation of 0.38 and 0.29 magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).[6]

Diameter and albedo edit

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Bassano measures 4.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.39.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a lower albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the principal body and namesake of its orbital family – and hence calculates a larger diameter of 4.9 kilometers.[3]

Naming edit

This minor planet was named for the location of the discovering observatory, Bassano Bresciano, an ancient village in northern Italy.[2]

The historic village was under Longobard and Frank control during the early Middle Ages, and then ruled by the House of Sforza and the Venice republic. In the 16th century the former marshland was regained by the two Italian agronomists Camillo Tarello and Agostino Gallo. Monuments in the village include Luzzago's palace and Brunelli's villa. Its church has a Via Crucis credited to the school of Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, one of the great Old Masters of that period.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 9 September 1995 (M.P.C. 25655).[8]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 6460 Bassano (1992 UK6)" (2017-03-21 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(6460) Bassano". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (6460) Bassano. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 534. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_5883. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "LCDB Data for (6460) Bassano". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d 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. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  5. ^ a b c 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. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d 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. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b "6460 Bassano (1992 UK6)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  8. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 May 2016.

External links edit