5380 Sprigg
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5380 Sprigg, provisional designation Template:Mp, is a background asteroid from the middle regions of the asteroid belt, approximately Script error: No such module "convert". in diameter. It was discovered on 7 May 1991, by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia.[1] It was named after Australian geologist Reg Sprigg.[2]
Orbit and classification
Sprigg is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,513 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.21 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] A first precovery was taken at Palomar Observatory in 1980, extending the body's observation arc by 11 years prior to its official discovery observation at Siding Spring.[1]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Reg Sprigg (1919–1994), Australian exploration geologist, oceanographer, biologist, author and conservationist. In 1946, he discovered the pre-Cambrian Ediacara biota, an assemblage of some of the most ancient animal fossils known. He is also the founder of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary which also hosts a small observatory. The naming was proposed by astronomer Duncan Steel.[2] Naming citation was prepared by the Sprigg family and published on 11 April 1998 (M.P.C. 31609Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".).[4]
Physical characteristics
Sprigg has been classified as an X-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey.[5]
Rotation period
A rotational lightcurve of Sprigg was obtained from photometric observations by astronomer Maurice Clark at Texas Tech University in October 2013. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.219 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.68 magnitude, indicating that the body has a non-spheroidal shape (U=3-Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".).[6]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Sprigg measures 6.606 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.280,[7][8] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a larger diameter of 12.75 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.2.[9]
References
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External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Template:Webarchive)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (5001)-(10000) – Minor Planet Center
- Template:AstDys
- Template:PAGENAMEBASE at the JPL Small-Body DatabaseTemplate:EditAtWikidata
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