52246 Donaldjohanson
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | S. J. Bus |
| Discovery site | Siding Spring Obs. |
| Discovery date | 2 March 1981 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | (52246) Donaldjohanson |
|
Named after
|
Donald Johanson (paleoanthropologist) |
| 1981 EQ5 · 1998 YF26 | |
|
main-belt · (inner) Erigone |
|
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 35.96 yr (13,133 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.8269 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9413 AU |
| 2.3841 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1857 |
| 3.68 yr (1,345 days) | |
| 317.07° | |
| 0° 16m 3.72s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.4192° |
| 262.85° | |
| 213.00° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.895±0.013 km |
| 0.103±0.019 | |
| C | |
| 15.5 | |
52246 Donaldjohanson, provisional designation 1981 EQ5, is a carbonaceous Erigonian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 2 March 1981, by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. The asteroid is a target of the Lucy mission and was aptly named after American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson.
Donaldjohanson is a carbonaceous C-type asteroid and member of the small Erigone family, which is named after its namesake 163 Erigone. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,345 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic. A first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in February 1981, extending the body's observation arc by 2 weeks prior to its official discovery observation.
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Donaldjohanson measures 3.895 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.103. It has an absolute magnitude of 15.5. As of 2017, Donaldjohanson's rotation period and shape remain unknown, as no rotational lightcurve has been obtained.
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