Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | WISE |
Discovery site | Earth orbit |
Discovery date | 9 June 2010 |
Designations | |
(284996) Rosaparks | |
Named after | Rosa Parks [1] (civil rights activist) |
2010 LD58 | |
main-belt [1][2] · (outer) background [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [2] | |
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 13.70 yr (5,003 d) |
Aphelion | 3.5469 AU |
Perihelion | 2.7347 AU |
3.1408 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1293 |
5.57 yr (2,033 d) | |
177.93° | |
0° 10m 37.56s / day | |
Inclination | 12.115° |
271.49° | |
331.82° | |
Physical characteristics | |
3.512±0.951 km[4][5] | |
0.099±0.052[4] | |
15.5[1][2] | |
284996 Rosaparks, provisional designation 2010 LD58, is a background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 9 June 2010, by scientists working with data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft.[1] It is named after Rosa Parks, the African-American civil rights activist. The dark asteroid is also mentioned in a TV episode of Doctor Who.
Rosaparks is a non-family asteroid from the main-belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,033 days; semi-major axis of 3.14 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]
The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program in February 2004, or more than six years prior to its official discovery observation by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).[1]
This minor planet was named after Rosa Parks (1913–2005), the African-American civil rights activist. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 9 September 2014 (M.P.C. 89835).[6]
As most asteroids from the outer main-belt, Rosaparks has a low albedo (see below) indicative of a carbonaceous composition. The body's spectral type, however, has not been determined.[2] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Rosaparks measures 3.512 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.099.[4] As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2][7]
The asteroid was referenced during the UK's Black history month, in an October 2018 episode of the TV series Doctor Who. In the final scene of the episode "Rosa", after witnessing Rosa Parks arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama passenger bus, the Thirteenth Doctor takes the TARDIS to the asteroid belt, and shows the asteroid to her companions, telling them its name.[8]
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