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4401 Aditi (provisional designation 1985 TB) is an eccentric, stony asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object and Amor asteroid, approximately 1.8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 October 1985 by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory in California, and later named after the Hindu goddess Aditi.

Classification and orbit

Aditi orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.1–4.0 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,513 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.56 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins with its discovery, as no precoveries were taken and no identifications were made before 1985.

With an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance, MOID, of 0.3302 AU (49,000,000 km), or 128.6 lunar distances, it never approaches Earth close enough to be classified as a potentially hazardous object, for which an upper MOID-limit of 0.05 AU is defined.

Physical characteristics

Lightcurves

Two rotational lightcurves of Aditi were obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, in August 2014 and March 2015, respectively. The first lightcurve rendered a period of 6.683 hours with a brightness variation of 0.64 (U=3-), while the second one gave a period of 6.670 hours with an amplitude of 0.29 magnitude (U=3).

Additional lightcurves were obtained by Benishek (U=n.a.) and Manzini (U=1+).

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Aditi has a high albedo of 0.34 with a corresponding diameter of 1.80 kilometers.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony S-type asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a slightly larger diameter of 1.88 kilometers, as the lower the body's albedo (reflectivity), the higher its diameter, at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).

Naming

This minor planet is named after the Hindu goddess Aditi, celestial mother of every existing form and being. She was the mother of the thirty-three gods, including the Vasus, the Rudras, and the Ādityas, the twelve zodiacal spirits. She is described in Vedic literature as the gods of the heavenly light. The official naming citation was published on 30 January 1991 (M.P.C. 17656).

Notes

1. ^ Benishek (2014) web: rotation period 19.2±0.5 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.55 mag. No LCDB Quality Code available. Summary figures for (4401) Aditi at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL)

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4401 Aditi (1985 TB)" (2015-05-10 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
2. ^ "4401 Aditi (1985 TB)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
3. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(4401) Aditi". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (4401) Aditi. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 378. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4351. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
4. ^ Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; McMillan, R. S.; et al. (November 2012). "Physical Parameters of Asteroids Estimated from the WISE 3-Band Data and NEOWISE Post-Cryogenic Survey". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 760 (1): 6. arXiv:1210.0502. Bibcode:2012ApJ...760L..12M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/760/1/L12. S2CID 41459166. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
5. ^ "LCDB Data for (4401) Aditi". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 4 June 2016.
6. ^ Warner, Brian D. (July 2015). "Near-Earth Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at CS3-Palmer Divide Station: 2015 January - March". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 42 (3): 172–183. Bibcode:2015MPBu...42..172W. ISSN 1052-8091. PMC 7244166. PMID 32455355. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
7. ^ Warner, Brian D. (January 2015). "Near-Earth Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at CS3-Palmer Divide Station: 2014 June-October". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 42 (1): 41–53. Bibcode:2015MPBu...42...41W. ISSN 1052-8091. PMC 7249511. PMID 32457969. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
8. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (4401) Aditi". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 June 2016.

External links

• NEODyS-2 for (4401) Aditi
• earn.dlr.de/nea for (4401) Aditi
• The Palmer Divide Observatory: Tour given by Brian Warner on YouTube (time 4:03 min.)
• 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
• 4401 Aditi at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 4401 Aditi at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 4401 Aditi at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Amor asteroids
• Discoveries by Carolyn S. Shoemaker
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1985