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2937 Gibbs, provisional designation 1980 LA, is a stony Phocaea asteroid and Mars-crosser from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 June 1980, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona. The asteroid was named after American scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs.

Orbit and classification

Gibbs is a Mars-crossing asteroid, as it crosses the orbit of Mars at 1.666 AU. It is also an eccentric member of the Phocaea family, a large asteroid family of stony asteroids in the inner main-belt. Gibbs orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.6–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,290 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.30 and an inclination of 22° with respect to the ecliptic.

The asteroid's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa. No prior identifications were made and no precoveries taken.

Physical characteristics

Gibbs is an assumed stony S-type asteroid, which agrees with the overall spectral type of the Phocaea family.

Rotation period

In 2005, two rotational lightcurves of Gibbs were obtained from photometric observations by Italian amateur astronomers Federico Manzini and Roberto Crippa. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.06 and 3.06153 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31 and 0.39 magnitude, respectively (U=2/3-). In December 2016, Robert Stephens obtained a well-defined lightcurve at his Trojan Station (U81) that gave a period of 3.189 hours and an amplitude of 0.26 magnitude (U=3).

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Gibbs measures between 5.04 and 5.99 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.283 and 0.30, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23 – derived from 25 Phocaea, the Phocaea family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 6.35 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.2.

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of American mathematician and physicist Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839–1903), who contributed to the studies of asteroids through his work on orbits. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 17 February 1984 (M.P.C. 8544). The lunar crater Gibbs was also named in his honor.

Notes

1. ^ Lightcurve plot for (2937) Gibbs. Robert D. Stephens (2016). Rotation period of 3.189±0.003 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.26 mag. Quality Code of 3. Summary figures at the CS3 website and at the LCDB

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2937 Gibbs (1980 LA)" (2017-03-16 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2937) Gibbs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 241–242. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2938. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "2937 Gibbs (1980 LA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
4. ^ "LCDB Data for (2937) Gibbs". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
5. ^ "Asteroid 2937 Gibbs – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
6. ^ Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T.; et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 12. arXiv:1606.08923. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...63N. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63.
7. ^ Alí-Lagoa, V.; Delbo', M. (July 2017). "Sizes and albedos of Mars-crossing asteroids from WISE/NEOWISE data". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 603: 8. arXiv:1705.10263. Bibcode:2017A&A...603A..55A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629917.
8. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (2937) Gibbs". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
9. ^ Stephens, Robert D. (April 2017). "Asteroids Observed from CS3: 2016 October - December". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 44 (2): 120–122. Bibcode:2017MPBu...44..120S. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
10. ^ 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.
11. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

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
• 2937 Gibbs at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2937 Gibbs at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Mars-crossing asteroids
• Phocaea asteroids
• Discoveries by Edward L. G. Bowell
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1980