31641 Cevasco (provisional designation 1999 GW34) is a stony Nysian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 April 1999, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research project at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico, United States. The asteroid was named for Hannah Cevasco, a 2015 Broadcom MASTERS awardee.[2]

31641 Cevasco
Discovery [1]
Discovered byLINEAR
Discovery siteLincoln Lab's ETS
Discovery date6 April 1999
Designations
(31641) Cevasco
Named after
Hannah Olivia Cevasco
(Broadcom MASTERS awardee)[2]
1999 GW34 · 1993 RR14
main-belt · (inner)[3]
Nysa
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc23.42 yr (8,554 days)
Aphelion2.7515 AU
Perihelion2.1234 AU
2.4374 AU
Eccentricity0.1289
3.81 yr (1,390 days)
347.07°
Inclination1.2136°
278.36°
215.87°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions2.737±0.168[4][5]
3.26 km (calculated)[3]
2.6556±0.1936 h[3]
2.8167±0.0127 h[6]
2.820±0.010 h[7]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
0.3108±0.0672[4]
0.311±0.067[5]
S[3]
14.8[1][3] · 14.940[7]

Orbit and classification

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Cevasco orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,390 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

The asteroid's observation arc begins 6 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its first identification as 1993 RR14 at ESO's La Silla Observatory in 1993.[2]

Physical characteristics

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Lightcurves

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Three rotational lightcurves of Cevasco were obtained from photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory between 2010 and 2014. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 2.6556, 2.8167 and 2.820 hours with a brightness variation of 0.71, 0.48 and 0.54 magnitude, respectively (U=2/2/2).[6][7]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Cevasco measures 2.7 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.311,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 3.3 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.8.[3]

Naming

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This minor planet was named in honor of Hannah Olivia Cevasco (born 2000) finalist in the 2015 Broadcom MASTERS, a math and science competition for middle school students, for her medicine and health sciences project. At the time she attended the St. Charles School in California.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 31641 Cevasco (1999 GW34)" (2017-02-15 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "31641 Cevasco (1999 GW34)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "LCDB Data for (31641) Cevasco". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c 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.
  5. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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.
  7. ^ a b c Chang, Chan-Kao; Ip, Wing-Huen; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Cheng, Yu-Chi; Ngeow, Chow-Choong; Yang, Ting-Chang; et al. (August 2015). "Asteroid Spin-rate Study Using the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 219 (2): 19. arXiv:1506.08493. Bibcode:2015ApJS..219...27C. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/219/2/27.
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