45737 Benita Explained

Minorplanet:yes
45737 Benita
Background:
  1. D6D6D6
Discovery Ref: 
Discovered:22 April 2000
Mpc Name:(45737) Benita
Alt Names:2000 HB
Named After:Benita Segal 
Mp Category:main-belt
background 
Orbit Ref: 
Epoch:4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty:0
Observation Arc:19.41 yr (7,091 days)
Perihelion:3.0485 AU
Semimajor:3.1963 AU
Eccentricity:0.0462
Period:5.71 yr (2,087 days)
Mean Motion: / day
Inclination:10.197°
Asc Node:181.43°
Arg Peri:124.47°
Dimensions: km
Abs Magnitude:13.6

45737 Benita (provisional designation ) is a bright asteroid located in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It has an estimated diameter of approximately 5 kilometers. The asteroid was discovered on April 22, 2000, by Bruce Segal, an American amateur astronomer, at the Florida Atlantic University's Jupiter Observatory in Boca Raton, Florida.

Orbit and classification

Benita is a non-family asteroid that belongs to the background population of the main belt. It orbits the Sun in the outer region of the asteroid belt, at a distance of 3.0–3.3 AU. It completes one orbit around the Sun every 5 years and 9 months (2,087 days) with a semi-major axis of approximately 3.20 AU. The orbit of Benita is slightly eccentric, with an eccentricity of 0.05, and it is inclined at an angle of 10° with respect to the ecliptic plane. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Lincoln Laboratory's ETS, New Mexico, on 30 October 1997.

Physical characteristics

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Benita measures 5.121 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.294.

Rotation period

As of 2017, no rotational lightcurve of Benita has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.

Naming

The discoverer named this minor planet after his wife, Benita Segal (born 1964), a major supporter of the observatory. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 November 2002 .

External links