8034_Akka

8034 Akka

8034 Akka

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8034 Akka, provisional designation 1992 LR, is a sub-kilometer sized, eccentric asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 540 meters in diameter. It was discovered at Palomar Observatory in 1992, and named after Akka from Finnish mythology.

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Discovery

Akka was discovered by American astronomer couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory, California, on 3 June 1992. The discovery was made as the asteroid neared a close approach to Earth the following month at 12.1 million kilometers or 31.5 lunar distances (LD).[9][10]

Orbit and classification

Akka orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.1–2.6 AU once every 2 years and 6 months (904 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.41 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first observation was made at Siding Spring Observatory in May 1992, extending the asteroid's observation arc by just two weeks prior to its discovery.[9]

Close approaches

With an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.0742 AU (11,100,000 km) or 28.9 LD, Akka is only slightly above the threshold-limit of 0.05 AU, or about 19.5 lunar distances, defined for potentially hazardous asteroids.[1]

Akka frequently makes close approaches to Earth and Mars. Its closest recorded approach to Earth and Mars is 0.081 AU on 29 July 1992 and 0.061 AU on 26 April 1982, respectively. It will make its closest approach to another planet when it comes within 0.044 AU of Mars on 6 April 2171.[10]

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of Akka was obtained from photoelectric observation made by Polish astronomer Wiesław Wiśniewski of the University of Arizona in August 1992. The ambiguous lightcurve gave a rotation period of 7.283±0.004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.46 in magnitude (U=2).[7] Alternatively, the body rotates once every 3.6377 hours (or half the previous period) with an amplitude of 0.52, as determined by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec (U=2).[6]

Diameter and albedo

According to Spitzer's "NEOSurvey", a follow-up to the "ExploreNEOs" program, Akka measures 0.540 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.33.[3] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 0.7 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 18.148.[4]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Akka from Finnish mythology. She is the Earth's mother and the goddess of harvest and personifies love, agriculture and femininity. Akka is the wife of the principal sky deity Ukko, after whom the minor planet 2020 Ukko is named.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 24 July 2002 (M.P.C. 46101).[11]

References

  1. [1]
    "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 8034 Akka (1992 LR)" (2016-03-03 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  2. [2]
    Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(8034) Akka". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (8034) Akka. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 628. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_6797. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. [3]
    Trilling, David E.; Mommert, Michael; Hora, Joseph; Chesley, Steve; Emery, Joshua; Fazio, Giovanni; et al. (December 2016). "NEOSurvey 1: Initial Results from the Warm Spitzer Exploration Science Survey of Near-Earth Object Properties". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (6): 10. arXiv:1608.03673. Bibcode:2016AJ....152..172T. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/6/172. S2CID 56105212.
  4. [4]
    "LCDB Data for (8034) Akka". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  5. [5]
    "(8034) Akka". NEODyS. University of Pisa. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. [6]
    Pravec, Petr; Wolf, Marek; Sarounová, Lenka (November 1998). "Lightcurves of 26 Near-Earth Asteroids". Icarus. 136 (1): 124–153. Bibcode:1998Icar..136..124P. doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5993. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  7. [7]
    Wisniewski, W. Z.; Michalowski, T. M.; Harris, A. W.; McMillan, R. S. (March 1995). "Photoelectric Observations of 125 Asteroids". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 26: 1511. Bibcode:1995LPI....26.1511W. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  8. [8]
    Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  9. [9]
    "8034 Akka (1992 LR)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  10. [10]
    "Close-Approach Data for 8034 Akka (1992 LR)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  11. [11]
    "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
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