516 Amherstia

516 Amherstia
	A three-dimensional model of 516 Amherstia based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered by	Raymond Smith Dugan
Discovery date	20 September 1903
Designations
MPC designation	(516) Amherstia
Named after	Amherst College
Alternative designations	1903 MG; 1938 YO
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	112.26 yr (41003 d)
Aphelion	3.4103 AU (510.17 Gm)
Perihelion	1.95161 AU (291.957 Gm)
Semi-major axis	2.68094 AU (401.063 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.27204
Orbital period	4.39 yr (1603.4 d)
Mean anomaly	26.3259°
Mean motion	0° 13m 28.308s / day
Inclination	12.960°
Longitude of ascending node	328.839°
Argument of perihelion	257.966°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	73.1 km; 69.84 ± 4.38 km
Mean radius	36.55±0.85 km
Mass	(1.43 ± 1.33) × 1018 kg 4.1×1017 kg[citation needed]
Mean density	2.0 g/cm³
Rotation period	0.312 d ; 7.49 h (0.312 d)
Geometric albedo	0.163–0.173 ; 0.1627±0.008
Spectral type	M-type asteroid
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.27

Amherstia (minor planet designation: 516 Amherstia) was the 8th asteroid discovered by Raymond Smith Dugan, and was named after Amherst College, his alma mater. Amherstia is a large M-type asteroid, with an estimated diameter of 73 km. It follows an eccentric orbit between Jupiter and Mars, with an orbital period of 4.39 years.

In 1989, the asteroid was observed from the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, allowing a light curve to be produced that showed an estimated rotation period of 7.49 hours and a brightness variation of 0.25 ± 0.01 in magnitude.^[5]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Yeomans, Donald K., "516 Amherstia", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
^ 1 Archived 27 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine
^ 2 Archived 16 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine
^ Dotto, E.; et al. (June 1992), "M-type asteroids - Rotational properties of 16 objects", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, 95 (2), pp. 195–211, Bibcode:1992A&AS...95..195D.

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