Minorplanet: | yes |
6708 Bobbievaile | |
Background: |
|
Discovery Ref: |   |
Discovered: | 4 January 1989 |
Mpc Name: | (6708) Bobbievaile |
Alt Names: | 1979 PF 1994 LB |
Named After: | Bobbie Vaile |
Orbit Ref: |   |
Epoch: | 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) |
Uncertainty: | 0 |
Observation Arc: | 37.81 yr (13,811 days) |
Perihelion: | 2.0045 AU |
Semimajor: | 2.4455 AU |
Eccentricity: | 0.1803 |
Period: | 3.82 yr (1,397 days) |
Mean Motion: | / day |
Inclination: | 12.076° |
Asc Node: | 115.81° |
Arg Peri: | 193.50° |
Satellites: | 1 |
Dimensions: | km |
Spectral Type: | S  |
Abs Magnitude: | 13.1 |
6708 Bobbievaile, provisional designation , is a stony background asteroid and asynchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8km (05miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 4 January 1989, by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. It is named after Bobbie Vaile.
Bobbievaile is a stony, non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,397 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic.
It was first observed as at El Leoncito in 1979, extending the body's observation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Siding Spring.
On 7 May 2009, it was announced that Bobbievaile was determined to be a binary asteroid based on a series of lightcurve observations. Bobbievaile (the primary) is estimated to have a diameter of, and its minor-planet moon (the secondary) to have a diameter of approximately 4.57 km. The primary is probably spherical.
This minor planet was named in memory of Australian astrophysicist Roberta Anne "Bobbie" Vaile (1959–1996), lecturer at Western Sydney University. She was a SETI enthusiast and participated in both the establishment of the SETI Australia Centre and the conduction of Project Phoenix. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 April 1997 .