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2752 Wu Chien-Shiung, provisional designation 1965 SP, is an Eoan asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 20 September 1965, by astronomers at Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanking, China. The asteroid has a long rotation period of 36.3 hours. It was named for Chinese-American nuclear physicist Chien-Shiung Wu.

Orbit and classification

Wu Chien-Shiung is a core member of the Eos family (606), one of the largest asteroid families named after 221 Eos. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.4 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,920 days; semi-major axis of 3.02 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.

The asteroid was first observed as 1933 QW at Heidelberg Observatory in August 1933. The body's observation arc begins as 1960 VA at the Goethe Link Observatory in November 1960, or 5 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nanking.

Physical characteristics

Wu Chien-Shiung is an assumed S-type asteroid, while the overall spectral type for members of the Eos family is that of a K-type.

Rotation period

In August 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Wu Chien-Shiung was obtained from photometric observations in the S-band by astronomers with the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a long rotation period of 36.343 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.28 magnitude (U=2). While not being a slow rotator with spin rates above 100 hours, Wu Chien-Shiung's period is significantly longer than the average 2 to 20 hours observed for most asteroids.

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Wu Chien-Shiung measures 15.484 and 16.65 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.203 and 0.184, respectively, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for K-type asteroids of 0.14 – derived from the Eos family's parent body – and calculates a diameter of 17.80 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.5.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Chinese-American nuclear physicist Chien-Shiung Wu (1912–1997), renowned for her research on the separation of uranium isotopes by gaseous diffusion and for the Wu experiment conducted in 1956, for which she was awarded a Wolf Prize in Physics in 1978 (also see list of laureates).

The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 11 March 1990 (M.P.C. 16040).

References

1. ^ "2752 Wu Chien-Shiung (1965 SP)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
2. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2752 Wu Chien-Shiung (1965 SP)" (2017-10-30 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
3. ^ "LCDB Data for (2752) Wu Chien-Shiung". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 26 April 2018.
4. ^ "Asteroid 2752 Wu Chien-Shiung – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
5. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
6. ^ Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
7. ^ Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
8. ^ Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75.
9. ^ Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
10. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

External links

• 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
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 2752 Wu Chien-Shiung at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2752 Wu Chien-Shiung at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Eos asteroids
• Chien-Shiung Wu
• Discoveries by the Purple Mountain Observatory
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1965