31192 Aigoual Explained

Minorplanet:yes
31192 Aigoual
Background:
  1. D6D6D6
Discovery Ref: 
Discovered:29 December 1997
Mpc Name:(31192) Aigoual
Alt Names:

Named After:Mont Aigoual
Mp Category:main-belt 
Xizang 
Orbit Ref: 
Epoch:4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty:0
Observation Arc:38.50 yr (14,063 days)
Perihelion:2.2442 AU
Semimajor:2.7549 AU
Eccentricity:0.1854
Period:4.57 yr (1,670 days)
Mean Motion: / day
Inclination:3.4534°
Asc Node:65.575°
Arg Peri:278.23°
Dimensions:7.34 km
Albedo:0.057
Abs Magnitude:13.9 14.4

31192 Aigoual (provisional designation ) is a Xizang asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 December 1997, by staff members of the Pises Observatory in southern France. The asteroid was named after Mont Aigoual in France.

Orbit and classification

Aigoual is a member of the small Xizang family, named after 2344 Xizang. It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,670 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid was first identified as at Palomar Observatory in 1978, extending the body's observation arc by 19 years prior to its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

Aigoual is an assumed carbonaceous C-type asteroid, while the overall spectral type of the Xizang family has not yet been evaluated.

Rotational lightcurve

In October 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Aigoual was obtained from photometric observations made by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.56 magnitude .

Diameter and albedo estimate

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a carbonaceous asteroid of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 7.3 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.4.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Mont Aigoual, in the Cévennes National Park, where the discovering observatory is located. It is the highest mountain of the Cévennes in the Massif Central, France. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 March 2002 .

External links