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4608 Wodehouse, provisional designation 1988 BW₃, is a background asteroid and suspected trojan of Ceres from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 January 1988, by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. The asteroid was named after English writer P. G. Wodehouse.

Orbit and classification

Wodehouse is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,326 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in January 1952, or 36 years prior to its official discovery observation at La Silla.

Trojan of Ceres

Long-term numerical integrations suggest, that Wodehouse is a trojan of Ceres, staying a 1:1 orbital resonance with the only dwarf planet of the asteroid belt. Other suspected co-orbitals are the asteroids 855 Newcombia, 1372 Haremari and 8877 Rentaro.

Physical characteristics

Wodehouse is classified as a rare L-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey. It has also been characterized as a common, carbonaceous C-type asteroid by SDSS-MFB (Masi Foglia Bus).

Rotation period

In December 2005, two rotational lightcurves of Wodehouse was obtained from photometric observations by Donald Pray and Petr Pravec in collaboration with several other observers. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 13.944 and 13.95 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.08 and 0.10 magnitude, respectively (U=3/2). A low brightness variation typically indicates, that the body has a spherical rather than elongated shape.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Wodehouse measures between 7.629 and 7.912 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.1958 and 0.210.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 8.18 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.8.

Naming

This minor planet was named after English writer and humorist P. G. Wodehouse (Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse; 1881–1975). He created several fictional characters who became familiar to the public over the years, including the jolly gentleman of leisure Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves. The body's name was suggested by Belgian astronomer Jean Meeus.

The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 April 2006 (M.P.C. 56611).

Notes

1. ^ Pravec (2005) web: rotation period 13.944±0.002 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.08 mag. Quality Code of 3. Summary figures for (4608) Wodehouse at LCDB and Ondrejov Asteroid Photometry Project, see data sheet.

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4608 Wodehouse (1988 BW3)" (2017-03-24 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
2. ^ "4608 Wodehouse (1988 BW3)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
3. ^ "LCDB Data for (4608) Wodehouse". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
4. ^ "Asteroid 4608 Wodehouse – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
5. ^ Christou, A. A. (April 2000). "Co-orbital objects in the main asteroid belt". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 356: L71–L74. Bibcode:2000A&A...356L..71C.
6. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID 118745497.
7. ^ 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. S2CID 118700974.
8. ^ Pray, Donald P.; Galad, Adrian; Gajdos, Stefan; Vilagi, Jozef; Cooney, Walt; Gross, John; et al. (December 2006). "Lightcurve analysis of asteroids 53, 698, 1016, 1523, 1950, 4608, 5080 6170, 7760, 8213, 11271, 14257, 15350 and 17509". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 33 (4): 92–95. Bibcode:2006MPBu...33...92P. ISSN 1052-8091.
9. ^ 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.
10. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 31 October 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 (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 4608 Wodehouse at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 4608 Wodehouse 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 Henri Debehogne
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1988
• Ceres trojans