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2500 Alascattalo, provisional designation 1926 GC, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter.

The asteroid was discovered on 2 April 1926, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany. It was later named for the fictional moose–walrus Alascattalo creature.

Orbit and classification

Alascattalo is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,225 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic. No precoveries were obtained prior to its discovery.

Physical characteristics

Alascattalo has been characterized as a common, stony S-type asteroid.

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by Junda Liu at the Lvye Observatory (P34), China, and at the iTelescope Observatory (Q62), at the Siding Spring Observatory site, Australia, in December 2015. The lightcurve gave a well-defined rotation period of 2.751 hours with a brightness variation of 0.19 in magnitude (U=3-).

A previous lightcurve with a concurring period of 2.754 hours and a similar amplitude of 0.15 was already obtained by French amateur astronomer Pierre Antonini in March 2013 (U=2).

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Alascattalo measures 7.5 and 7.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.21 and 0.27, respectively, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – which derives from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 8.2 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.6.

Naming

This minor planet was named after the mythological creature "Alascattalo", a fictional chimera between a moose and a walrus.

According to legend, it was genetically bred by miners during the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 19th century. The alascattalo also stands for the local people's unique sense of humor, dealing with tourists who ask naive questions, and is the mascot of the four-minute long, annual parade on "Alascattalo Day" held in November. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 21 November 1991 (M.P.C. 19332).

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2500 Alascattalo (1926 GC)" (2017-06-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2500) Alascattalo". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2500) Alascattalo. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 204. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2501. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "LCDB Data for (2500) Alascattalo". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 7 May 2016.
4. ^ 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 6 December 2016.
5. ^ Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
6. ^ Liu, Junda (April 2016). "Rotation Period Analysis for 2500 Alascattalo". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 43 (2): 111–112. Bibcode:2016MPBu...43..111L. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
7. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (2500) Alascattalo". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 7 May 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. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
9. ^ "2500 Alascattalo (1926 GC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
10. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 May 2016.

External links

• 21 November 2011 - Alascattalo Day
• 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 (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 2500 Alascattalo at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2500 Alascattalo at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Flora asteroids
• Discoveries by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1926