51828 Ilanramon (provisional designation 2001 OU39) is a Gefionian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 July 2001, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named in memory of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[9]
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | NEAT |
Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
Discovery date | 20 July 2001 |
Designations | |
(51828) Ilanramon | |
Named after | Ilan Ramon [2] (Israeli astronaut) |
2001 OU39 | |
main-belt · (middle) Gefion [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 26.95 yr (9,844 days) |
Aphelion | 3.1311 AU |
Perihelion | 2.4181 AU |
2.7746 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1285 |
4.62 yr (1,688 days) | |
76.382° | |
0° 12m 47.88s / day | |
Inclination | 9.4769° |
41.712° | |
42.469° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 5.549±0.904 km[4][5] 9.24 km (calculated)[6] |
3.61±0.43 h[7] | |
0.057 (assumed)[6] 0.1899±0.1093[4][5] | |
C (assumed)[6] | |
13.7[5] · 13.9[1][6] · 14.03±0.35[8] | |
Ilanramon is a member of the Gefion family (516),[3] a large asteroid family named after 1272 Gefion.[10] It orbits the Sun in the intermediate main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,688 days; semi-major axis of 2.77 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The asteroid's observation arc begins with a precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey taken at Palomar in May 1990, nearly 11 years prior to the body's official discovery observation.[9]
Ilanramon is an assumed C-type asteroid,[6] but its membership to the Gefion family and its relatively high albedo (see below) measured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), indicate that it is likely a stony S-type asteroid.[10]: 23
In February 2016, a rotational lightcurve of Ilanramon was obtained from photometric observations by a group of Hungarian astronomers based on the Kepler space telescope's K2-mission. Lightcurve analysis gave a short rotation period of 3.61 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.88 magnitude, indicative for a non-spherical shape (U=2).[7]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Ilanramon measures 5.549 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.1899,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and consequently calculates a larger diameter of 9.24 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.9.[6]
This minor planet was named after Israeli astronaut and payload specialist Ilan Ramon (1954–2003), who was killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 August 2003 (M.P.C. 49283).[11]
The following asteroids were also named in memory of the other six members of STS-107: 51823 Rickhusband, 51824 Mikeanderson, 51825 Davidbrown, 51826 Kalpanachawla, 51827 Laurelclark and 51829 Williemccool.