1376 Michelle, provisional designation 1935 UH, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 October 1935, by French astronomer Guy Reiss at the North African Algiers Observatory in Algeria.[12] It is named for the discoverer's daughter, Michelle Reiss.[2]

1376 Michelle
Discovery[1]
Discovered byG. Reiss
Discovery siteAlgiers Obs.
Discovery date29 October 1935
Designations
(1376) Michelle
Named after
Michelle Reiss
(discoverer's daughter)[2]
1935 UH · 1931 JK
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc81.02 yr (29,594 days)
Aphelion2.7085 AU
Perihelion1.7478 AU
2.2282 AU
Eccentricity0.2156
3.33 yr (1,215 days)
216.89°
0° 17m 46.68s / day
Inclination3.5516°
163.47°
156.05°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions7.053±0.119 km[4][5]
7.10 km (taken)[3]
7.104 km[6]
9.12±2.51 km[7]
5.9748±0.0002 h[8]
5.9766±0.0004 h[9]
5.9769±0.0005 h[10]
6.0±0.5 h[11]
0.263[3][6]
0.267±0.058[4][5]
0.28±0.17[7]
S[3]
12.4[1][7] · 12.81[3][4] · 12.81±0.04[6][11]

Classification and orbit edit

Michelle is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest populations of stony S-type asteroids in the entire main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.7–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,215 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Michelle was first identified as 1931 JK at Lowell Observatory in 1931. The body's observation arc, however, begins with its official discovery observation at Algiers.[12]

Lightcurve edit

In October 2008, a group of French and Japanese astronomers obtained two rotational light-curves of Michelle from photometric observations. Light-curve analysis gave a well defined rotation period of 5.9748 and 5.9766 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20 and 0.13 magnitude, respectively (U=3/3).[8][9] The results concur with a period of 5.9769 hours obtained by a group of Polish astronomers in April 2004 (U=2),[10] and with a period of 6.0 hours measured by JPL-photometrist Wiesław Wiśniewski in the 1980s (U=2+).[11]

Diameter and albedo edit

According to the 2015-published results by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Michelle measures 9.12 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.28,[7] while preliminary results gave a diameter of 7.1 kilometers and an albedo of 0.267.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts an albedo of 0.263 and a diameter of 7.10 kilometers, taken from Petr Pravec's 2012-revised WISE results.[3][6]

Naming edit

This minor planet was named for Michelle Reiss, the third daughter of the discoverer.[2] The discoverer also named 1237 Geneviève and 1300 Marcelle after his other two daughters. Naming was first cited in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 125).[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1376 Michelle (1935 UH)" (2016-11-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1376) Michelle". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1376) Michelle. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 111. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1377. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (1376) Michelle". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  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.
  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 11 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d 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 11 January 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  8. ^ a b Hamanowa, Hiromi; Hamanowa, Hiroko (July 2009). "Lightcurves of 494 Virtus, 556 Phyllis, 624 Hektor 657 Gunlod, 111 Reinmuthia, 1188 Gothlandia, and 1376 Michelle". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 36 (3): 87–88. Bibcode:2009MPBu...36...87H. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  9. ^ a b Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1376) Michelle". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  10. ^ a b Kryszczynska, A.; Colas, F.; Polinska, M.; Hirsch, R.; Ivanova, V.; Apostolovska, G.; et al. (October 2012). "Do Slivan states exist in the Flora family?. I. Photometric survey of the Flora region". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 546: 51. Bibcode:2012A&A...546A..72K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219199. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  11. ^ a b c Wisniewski, W. Z.; Michalowski, T. M.; Harris, A. W.; McMillan, R. S. (March 1995). "Photoelectric Observations of 125 Asteroids". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 26: 1511. Bibcode:1995LPI....26.1511W. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b "1376 Michelle (1935 UH)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 January 2017.

External links edit