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2067 Aksnes, provisional designation 1936 DD, is a rare-type Hildian asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately 44 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 23 February 1936, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland. It was named after astronomer Kaare Aksnes.

Orbit and classification

Aksnes is a member of the Hilda family, the outermost orbital group of asteroids in the main-belt, that are thought to have originated from the Kuiper belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.2–4.7 AU once every 7 years and 11 months (2,882 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.

The asteroid's observation arc begins on its discovery night at Turku, the first used observation. As all Hildian asteroids orbit in a 3:2 orbital resonance with the gas giant Jupiter, meaning that for every 2 orbits Jupiter completes around the Sun, they will complete 3 orbits, this asteroid's orbit does not cross the path of any of the planets and therefore it will not be pulled out of orbit by Jupiter's gravitational field. As a result of this, it is likely that the asteroid will remain in a stable orbit for thousands of years.

Physical characteristics

The dark and reddish asteroid is characterized as a rare P-type and D-type asteroid in the Tholen classification and by the NEOWISE mission, respectively. Of either type only a few dozens bodies are currently known to exist in the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy.

Rotation period

During a photometric survey of Hildian asteroids in the 1990s, a rotational lightcurve was obtained of Aksnes by Swedish, German and Italian observatories . The lightcurve gave a rotation period of 17.75 hours with a brightness variation of 0.24 in magnitude (U=2).

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Aksnes measures between 42.5 and 49.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo between 0.049 and 0.063. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.056 and a diameter of 42.5 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 10.6.

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Norwegian astronomer Kaare Aksnes (born 1938), a celestial mechanician who worked at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in the 1970s.

Aksnes is known for his studies of artificial and natural satellites, in particular for his research on the Galilean satellites, the four largest moons of Jupiter, namely Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 September 1978 (M.P.C. 4482).

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2067 Aksnes (1936 DD)" (2017-03-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2067) Aksnes". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 167. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2068. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "LCDB Data for (2067) Aksnes". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 29 August 2016.
4. ^ Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System. 12: IRAS–A–FPA–3–RDR–IMPS–V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
5. ^ Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Bauer, J.; Masiero, J.; Spahr, T.; McMillan, R. S.; Walker, R.; Cutri, R.; Wright, E.; Eisenhardt, P. R.; Blauvelt, E.; DeBaun, E.; Elsbury, D.; Gautier, T.; Gomillion, S.; Hand, E.; Wilkins, A. (January 2012). "WISE/NEOWISE Observations of the Hilda Population: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 744 (2): 15. arXiv:1110.0283. Bibcode:2012ApJ...744..197G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/744/2/197. S2CID 44000310. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
6. ^ Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
7. ^ Dahlgren, M.; Lahulla, J. F.; Lagerkvist, C.-I.; Lagerros, J.; Mottola, S.; Erikson, A.; Gonano-Beurer, M.; Di Martino, M. (June 1998). "A Study of Hilda Asteroids. V. Lightcurves of 47 Hilda Asteroids". Icarus. 133 (2): 247–285. Bibcode:1998Icar..133..247D. doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5919. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
8. Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. S2CID 53493339. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
9. ^ "2067 Aksnes (1936 DD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
10. "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: spec. type = P (Tholen)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
11. "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: spec. type = D (Tholen) or spec. type = D (SMASSII)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
12. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. Bibcode:2009dmpn.book.....S. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Hilda asteroids
• Discoveries by Yrjö Väisälä
• Named minor planets
• P-type asteroids (Tholen)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1936