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17473 Freddiemercury (provisional designation 1991 FM₃) is a stony Massalian asteroid from the inner regions asteroid belt, approximately 3.4 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 21 March 1991, by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile, and later named in memory of Freddie Mercury.

Classification and orbit

Freddiemercury is a member of the Massalia family (404), a large family of stony S-type asteroids with low inclinations in the inner main belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,350 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.

The body's observation arc begins 9 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its identification as 1982 VC₉ at Crimea–Nauchnij in November 1982.

Physical characteristics

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Freddiemercury measures 3.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.313.

As of 2017, the asteroid's exact composition, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.

Naming

On 4 September 2016, one day before what would have been Freddie Mercury's 70th birthday, the International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Center named the asteroid after Mercury, as it was discovered the same year as Mercury's death, (M.P.C. 101215) and its provisional designation included his initials, FM. The approved naming was announced by Mercury's Queen bandmate Brian May at Montreux Casino to mark Mercury's 70th birthday.

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 17473 (1991 FM3)" (2017-05-02 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
2. ^ "17473 (1991 FM3)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
3. ^ "Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
4. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. S2CID 46350317. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
5. "LCDB Data for (17473) Freddiemercury". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 26 June 2017.
6. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
7. "Freddie Mercury: Asteroid named after late Queen star to mark 70th birthday". BBC News. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
8. "A shooting star leaping through the sky: asteroid named after Freddie Mercury on '70th birthday'". Telegraph. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2017.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (15001)-(20000) – Minor Planet Center
• Asteroid (17473) Freddiemercury: an image – Virtual Telescope Project
• 17473 Freddiemercury at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 17473 Freddiemercury at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Massalia asteroids
• Discoveries by Henri Debehogne
• Named minor planets
• Freddie Mercury
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1991