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For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation).

4713 Steel, provisional designation 1989 QL, is a rare-type Hungaria asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 August 1989, by Scottish–Australian astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. It was named after astronomer Duncan Steel.

Classification and orbit

The rare and reddish A-type asteroid is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.1 AU once every 2 years and 8 months (977 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 23° with respect to the ecliptic.

A first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1976, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 13 years prior to its official discovery observation in 1989.

Lightcurves

In May 2005, the first rotational lightcurve was obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations made by French amateur astronomer Laurent Bernasconi. It gave a rotation period of 5.186±0.004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.44 magnitude (U=3).

Between May 2010 and December 2014, American astronomer Brian D. Warner obtained another 3 well-defined lightcurves at the U.S. Palmer Divide Station, Colorado. They gave a slightly longer period of 5.193–5.203 hours with an amplitude of 0.28 to 0.42 magnitude (U=3/3/3).

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, the asteroid measures 5.6 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.424, while NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission determined a diameter of 6.2 and 6.3 kilometers with an albedo of 0.347 and 0.381, respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a much lower albedo of 0.18 and calculates a larger diameter of 7.5 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.1.

Naming

This minor planet was named for English-born New Zealander Duncan Steel (born 1955), astronomer and discoverer of minor planets, whose research focuses on small Solar System bodies, such as the dynamics of asteroids, comets and meteoroids, and on meteoric impact rates. He has also demonstrated that various asteroids of the Apollo group are the parents of meteor showers. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 March 1991 (M.P.C. 17982).

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4713 Steel (1989 QL)" (2017-02-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(4713) Steel". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (4713) Steel. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 406. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4625. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "LCDB Data for (4713) Steel". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 9 September 2016.
4. ^ 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)
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.
6. ^ 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 1 September 2016.
7. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (4713) Steel". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
8. ^ Warner, Brian D. (April 2012). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: 2011 September - December". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 39 (2): 69–80. Bibcode:2012MPBu...39...69W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
9. ^ Warner, Brian D. (October 2010). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: 2010 March - June". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 37 (4): 161–165. Bibcode:2010MPBu...37..161W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
10. ^ Warner, Brian D. (April 2015). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at CS3-Palmer Divide Station: 2014 October-December". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 42 (2): 108–114. Bibcode:2015MPBu...42..108W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
11. 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 9 September 2016.
12. ^ "4713 Steel (1989 QL)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
13. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 September 2016.

External links

• Lightcurve plot of 4713 Steel, Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2011)
• 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
• 4713 Steel at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 4713 Steel at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Hungaria asteroids
• Discoveries by Robert H. McNaught
• Named minor planets
• A-type asteroids (SMASS)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1989