2590 Mourão

2590 Mourão (prov. designation: 1980 kJ) is a bright Vesta asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 22 May 1980, by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile.[1] The V-type asteroid has a rotation period of 15.6 hours.[6] It was named after Brazilian astronomer Ronaldo Rogério de Freitas Mourão.[2]

2590 Mourão
Shape model of Mourão from its lightcurve
Discovery [1]
Discovered byH. Debehogne
Discovery siteLa Silla Obs.
Discovery date22 May 1980
Designations
(2590) Mourao
Named after
Ronaldo Mourão
(Brazilian astronomer)[2]
1980 KJ · 1949 WP
1963 SM · 1974 UN
1974 VG2 · 1974 XK
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc68.36 yr (24,967 d)
Aphelion2.6200 AU
Perihelion2.0648 AU
2.3424 AU
Eccentricity0.1185
3.59 yr (1,309 d)
50.740°
0° 16m 29.64s / day
Inclination6.1361°
223.68°
165.80°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
6.96 km (calculated)[6]
7.880±1.058 km[7]
15.59±0.01 h[8]
0.40 (assumed)[6]
0.605±0.296[7]
V [6]
11.68[7]
12.4[1][3][6]

    Orbit and classification

    Mourão is a core member of the Vesta family.[4][5] Vestian asteroids have a composition akin to cumulate eucrite (HED meteorites) and are thought to have originated deep within 4 Vesta's crust, possibly from the Rheasilvia crater, a large impact crater on its southern hemisphere near the South pole, formed as a result of a subcatastrophic collision. I has also been classified as a member of the Flora family (Zappala; double classification by Nesvorny), one of the largest asteroid clans in the main-belt.[5][6] It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.1–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,309 days; semi-major axis of 2.34 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The asteroid was first observed as 1949 WP at Uccle Observatory in November 1949. The body's observation arc begins with at precovery taken at Purple Mountain Observatory in October 1973, almost seven years prior to its official discovery observation at La Silla.[1]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named in honor of Brazilian astronomer Ronaldo Rogério de Freitas Mourão (1935–2014) at the National Observatory of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro. His activities included the study of double stars, minor planets and comets. He participated extensively in ESO's discoverer program of observations of minor planets. Mourão also wrote several astronomical books and was the founder of the Brazilian Museum for Astronomy (Portuguese: Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins).[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 July 1985 (M.P.C. 9767).[9]

    Physical characteristics

    Mourão has been characterized as a bright V-type asteroid.[6] V-type asteroids are less common than the abundant S-type asteroids but similar in composition, except for their higher concentration of pyroxenes, an aluminium-rich silicate mineral.

    Albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the WISE and subsequent NEOWISE mission, the body's albedo amounts to 0.61,[7] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a somewhat less extraordinary value of 0.4.[6]

    Lightcurves

    Photometric observations of this asteroid by Slovak astronomer Adrián Galád in September 2006, gave a rotational lightcurve with a rotation period of 15.59±0.01 hours and a brightness variation of 0.49 magnitude (U=3).[8] A second, less secure lightcurve was obtained by Italian astronomers Roberto Crippa and Federico Manzini in September 2013, which gave a divergent period of 35.52 hours with an amplitude of 0.46 magnitude (U=2).[10]

    References
    1. "2590 Mourao (1980 KJ)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
    2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2590) Mourão". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 211. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2591. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2590 Mourao (1980 KJ)" (2018-03-28 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
    4. "Asteroid (2590) Mourao – Proper elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
    5. "Asteroid 2590 Mourao". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
    6. "LCDB Data for (2590) Mourão". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 6 December 2016.
    7. Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. S2CID 46350317. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
    8. Galád, Adrián; Pravec, Petr; Gajdos, Stefan; Kornos, Leonard; Világi, Jozef (October 2007). "Seven Asteroids Studied from Modra Observatory in the Course of Binary Asteroid Photometric Campaign". Earth. 101 (1–2): 17–25. Bibcode:2007EM&P..101...17G. doi:10.1007/s11038-007-9146-6. S2CID 121779876. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
    9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
    10. Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (2590) Mourão". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
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