Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | P. Wild |
Discovery site | Zimmerwald Obs. |
Discovery date | 11 September 1969 |
Designations | |
(2029) Binomi | |
Named after | Alessandro Binomi (fictitious mathematician)[2] |
1969 RB · 1971 BX2 1976 QV1 | |
main-belt · Vesta [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 47.52 yr (17,355 days) |
Aphelion | 2.6515 AU |
Perihelion | 2.0477 AU |
2.3496 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1285 |
3.60 yr (1,316 days) | |
120.75° | |
0° 16m 25.32s / day | |
Inclination | 5.5869° |
278.03° | |
67.217° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 5.39 km (calculated)[3] 6.893±0.164 km[4] 7.050±0.058 km[5] |
3.7555±0.010 h[6] 3.756±0.0015 h[7] | |
0.24 (assumed)[3] 0.2468±0.0358[5] 0.257±0.048[4] | |
SMASS = S [1][3] | |
12.9[5] · 13.0[1] · 13.030±0.210 (R)[6] · 13.058±0.001 (R)[7] · 13.24±0.26[8] · 13.51[3] | |
2029 Binomi, provisional designation 1969 RB, is a Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered on 11 September 1969, by Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.[9] It was named for the fictitious mathematician "Alessandro Binomi" who invented the binomial formula.[2]
Binomi is a member of the Vesta family, one of the largest collisional populations of the inner asteroid belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,316 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The body's observation arc begins at Crimea–Nauchnij on 10 September 1969, the night before its official discovery observation at Zimmerwald.[9]
In the SMASS classification, Binomi is a stony S-type asteroid.[1]
In January 2014, two rotational lightcurves of Binomi were obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.7555 and 3.756 hours with a brightness variation of 0.51 and 0.52 magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).[6][7]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Binomi measures 6.893 and 7.050 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.2468 and 0.257, respectively.[4][5]
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of its family – and calculates a diameter of 5.39 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.51.[3]
This minor planet was named for the fictitious mathematician "Alessandro Binomi", inventor of the binomial formula. This act of parody science was common among students at German-speaking universities (de:Binomi). The real inventors of the binomial formula are the Bernoullis, after whom the asteroid 2034 Bernoulli was named.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 August 1981 (M.P.C. 6208).[10]