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8013 Gordonmoore, provisional designation 1990 KA, is an eccentric, stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 1–2 kilometers in diameter.

The asteroid was discovered on 18 May 1990, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. It was named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore.

Orbit and classification

Gordonmoore orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.3–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,192 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.43 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.

It has a minimum orbit intersection distance with Earth of 0.2472 AU (37,000,000 km), or 96.3 lunar distance. Due to its eccentric orbit, Gordonmoore is also Mars-crosser. In 2127, the asteroid will pass the Red Planet within 0.02776 AU (4,150,000 km).

A first precovery was taken at the discovering Palomar Observatory in 1951, extending the body's observation arc by 39 years prior to its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

In April 2016, a rotational lightcurve of Gordonmoore was obtained from photometric observations by astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station (716) in Colorado. It gave a rotation period of 8.40 hours with a brightness variation of 0.25 magnitude. Lightcurve analysis also gave an alternative period solution of 4.19 hours with an amplitude of 0.25 magnitude. (U=2). The results supersede a previous observations made at the Hoher List Observatory in Germany, that gave a shorter period of 6 hours (U=1).

Diameter and albedo

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 1.04 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 17.26. In the 1990s, Tom Gehrels estimated the body's diameter to be 2.3 kilometers, assuming an albedo of 0.15.

Naming

This minor planet was named in honour of American entrepreneur and billionaire, Gordon Moore (1929-2023), co-founder of Intel, known for his revolutionary vision of the future of computers, and author of Moore's law. As a philanthropist, Moore has supported research and education all his life. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 May 2002 (M.P.C. 45747).

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 8013 Gordonmoore (1990 KA)" (2016-07-24 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(8013) Gordonmoore". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (8013) Gordonmoore. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 628. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_6793. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "8013 Gordonmoore (1990 KA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
4. ^ "LCDB Data for (8013) Gordonmoore". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 11 August 2016.
5. ^ Hoffmann, M. (March 1991). "Photometry of 1990 KA". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 18: 10. Bibcode:1991MPBu...18...10H. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
6. ^ Warner, Brian D. (October 2016). "Near-Earth Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at CS3-Palmer Divide Station: 2016 April-July". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 43 (4): 311–319. Bibcode:2016MPBu...43..311W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
7. Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
8. Wisniewski, W. Z.; Michalowski, T. M.; Harris, A. W.; McMillan, R. S. (March 1995). "Photoelectric Observations of 125 Asteroids". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 26: 1511. Bibcode:1995LPI....26.1511W. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 August 2016.

External links

• Hazards due to Comets and Asteroids (1994)
• 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
• 8013 Gordonmoore at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 8013 Gordonmoore at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 8013 Gordonmoore 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 Eleanor F. Helin
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1990