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941 Murray (prov. designation: A920 TF or 1920 HV) is a background asteroid, approximately 18 kilometers (11 miles) in diameter, located in the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory on 10 October 1920. The X-type asteroid has a short rotation period of 3.4 hours. It was named after British professor Gilbert Murray (1866–1957).

Orbit and classification

Murray is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,695 days; semi-major axis of 2.78 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins at Vienna Observatory on 11 October 1920, the night after its official discovery observation.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Gilbert Murray (1866–1957), British classical scholar and diplomat who helped post-war Austria in 1920 through the League of Nations. The naming was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 91).

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen classification, Murray is a carbonaceous C-type asteroid (CX), somewhat similar to that of an X-type, while in the Bus-Binzel SMASS classification, it is an X-type asteroid.

Rotation period

In December 2018, a rotational lightcurve of Murray was obtained from photometric observations by the Spanish astronomer group OBAS. Lightcurve analysis gave a notably short rotation period of 3.390±0.004 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.10±0.03 magnitude (U=2).

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Murray measures 18.217±0.072 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.128±0.020. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a carbonaceous asteroid of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 27.26 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.55. The WISE team also published an alternative mean diameter 17.988±0.278 km with an albedo of 0.1313±0.0215.

References

1. ^ "941 Murray (A920 TF)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(941) Murray". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 83. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_942. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 941 Murray (A920 TF)" (2020-01-07 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
4. ^ "Asteroid 941 Murray – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
5. ^ "Asteroid 941 Murray". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
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.
7. ^ "LCDB Data for (941) Murray". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 16 February 2020.
8. ^ Carreño, Alfonso; Arce, Enrique; Fornas, Gonzalo; Mas, Vicente (April 2019). "Eleven Main-belt Asteroids and One Near-Earth Asteroid Lightcurves at Asteroids Observers (OBAS) – MPPD: 2017 May - 2019 Jan" (PDF). The Minor Planet Bulletin. 46 (2): 200–203. Bibcode:2019MPBu...46..200C.

External links

• Lightcurve Database Query (LCDB), at www.minorplanet.info
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 941 Murray at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 941 Murray 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 Johann Palisa
• Named minor planets
• CX-type asteroids (Tholen)
• X-type asteroids (SMASS)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1920