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4324 Bickel, provisional designation 1981 YA₁, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 December 1981, by American astronomer Laurence Taff at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico, United States. The asteroid was named after amateur astronomer Wolf Bickel.

Orbit and classification

Bickel orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.0–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,483 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first identified as A924 YC at Heidelberg Observatory in 1924, extending the body's observation arc by 57 years prior to its official discovery observation at Socorro.

Physical characteristics

Bickel has been characterized as a common S-type asteroid.

Rotation period

In September 2001, the first ever conducted photometric observation of Bickel at the Rozhen Observatory, Bulgaria, rendered a rotational lightcurve with a longer-than-average period of 26.5 hours and a brightness variation of 0.63 magnitude (U=2). A more refined lightcurve was obtained in October 2005, by astronomers Raymond Poncy, Laurent Bernasconi and Rui Goncalves, which gave a well-defined period of 26.592±0.003 hours with an amplitude of 0.72 magnitude (U=3).

Diameter and albedo

According to observations by NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Bickel measures 11.7 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.248, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a slightly larger diameter of 12.4 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.9.

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of German amateur astronomer Wolf Bickel (born 1942) who began observing minor planets at his private Bergisch Gladbach Observatory in 1995.

At the time this minor planet was named, he had discovered more than 540 numbered minor planets. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 July 2013 (M.P.C. 84378). Bickel has become Germany's most prolific discoverer of asteroids, ahead of (professional) astronomer Freimut Börngen, the first time in 150 years, that an amateur astronomer is ranking first among the German top discoverers. His total number of discoveries has since increased to more than 600.

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4324 Bickel (1981 YA1)" (2017-06-02 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
2. ^ "4324 Bickel (1981 YA1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
3. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; 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. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
4. ^ "LCDB Data for (4324) Bickel". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
5. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (4324) Bickel". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
6. ^ Ivanova, V. G.; Apostolovska, G.; Borisov, G. B.; Bilkina, B. I. (November 2002). "Results from photometric studies of asteroids at Rozhen National Observatory, Bulgaria". In: Proceedings of Asteroids: 505–508. Bibcode:2002ESASP.500..505I. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
7. 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 17 May 2016.
8. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
9. "Bickel überholt Börngen – die erfolgreichsten deutschen Kleinplanetenentdecker" [Bickel overtakes Börgen – Most prolific German discoverers of minor planets] (PDF). VdS-Journal – Vereinigung der Sternfreunde. April 2013. pp. 80–83. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
10. "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.

External links

• VdS-Journal – Vereinigung der Sternfreunde
• 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
• 4324 Bickel at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 4324 Bickel at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Background asteroids
• Discoveries by Laurence G. Taff
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1981