6708 Bobbievaile

6708 Bobbievaile, provisional designation 1989 AA5, is a stony background asteroid and asynchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 4 January 1989, by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia.[6] It is named after Bobbie Vaile.[2]

Orbit and classification

Bobbievaile is a stony, non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,397 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

It was first observed as 1979 PF at El Leoncito in 1979, extending the body's observation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Siding Spring.[6]

Binary asteroid

On 7 May 2009, it was announced that Bobbievaile was determined to be a binary asteroid based on a series of lightcurve observations. Bobbievaile (the primary) is estimated to have a diameter of 8.02±0.02 km, and its minor-planet moon (the secondary) to have a diameter of approximately 4.57 km.[4] The primary is probably spherical.

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of Australian astrophysicist Roberta Anne "Bobbie" Vaile (1959–1996), lecturer at Western Sydney University. She was a SETI enthusiast and participated in both the establishment of the SETI Australia Centre and the conduction of Project Phoenix.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 April 1997 (M.P.C. 29671).[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 6708 Bobbievaile (1989 AA5)" (2017-06-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(6708) Bobbievaile". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (6708) Bobbievaile. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 551. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_6048. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d "LCDB Data for (6708) Bobbievaile". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b Johnston, Robert. "(6708) Bobbievaile". johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b "6708 Bobbievaile (1989 AA5)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  7. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 March 2017.

External links

  • Simostronomy—The Remarkable Bobbie Vaile
  • (6708) Bobbievaile, datasheet, johnstonsarchive.net
  • Asteroids with Satellites, Robert Johnston, johnstonsarchive.net
  • Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
  • Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
  • Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (5001)-(10000) – Minor Planet Center
  • 6708 Bobbievaile at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
    • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
  • 6708 Bobbievaile at the JPL Small-Body Database Edit this at Wikidata
    • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • JPL SBDB
  • MPC