284996 Rosaparks
Discovery [1]
Discovered byWISE
Discovery siteEarth orbit
Discovery date9 June 2010
Designations
(284996) Rosaparks
Named after
Rosa Parks [1]
(civil rights activist)
2010 LD58
main-belt [1][2] · (outer)
background [3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc13.70 yr (5,003 d)
Aphelion3.5469 AU
Perihelion2.7347 AU
3.1408 AU
Eccentricity0.1293
5.57 yr (2,033 d)
177.93°
0° 10m 37.56s / day
Inclination12.115°
271.49°
331.82°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
3.512±0.951 km[4][5]
0.099±0.052[4]
15.5[1][2]

    284996 Rosaparks, provisional designation 2010 LD58, is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 9 June 2010 by scientists working with data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft.[1] It is named after Rosa Parks, the African-American civil rights activist. It features in an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

    Orbit and classification

    Rosaparks is a non-family asteroid from the main-belt's background population.[3] It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,033 days). Its orbit has a semi-major axis of 3.14 AU), an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]

    The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program in February 2004, more than six years prior to its official discovery observation by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).[1]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after Rosa Parks (1913–2005), the African-American civil rights activist. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 9 September 2014 (M.P.C. 89835).[6]

    Physical characteristics

    Like most asteroids from the outer main-belt, Rosaparks has a low albedo (see below), indicating a carbonaceous composition. The body's spectral type has not been determined.[2] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Rosaparks measures 3.512 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.099.[4] As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2][7]

    During the UK's Black History Month in 2018, the asteroid featured in the television series Doctor Who. In the final scene of the episode "Rosa", after witnessing Rosa Parks's arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama passenger bus, the Thirteenth Doctor takes the TARDIS to the asteroid belt and shows her companions the object that has been named in Parks's honour.[8]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "284996 Rosaparks (2010 LD58)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 284996 Rosaparks (2010 LD58)" (2017-10-23 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
    3. 1 2 "Asteroid 284996 Rosaparks – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
    4. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
    5. ↑ "Asteroid 284996 Rosaparks". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
    6. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
    7. ↑ "LCDB Data for (284996) Rosaparks". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 23 October 2018.
    8. ↑ Miller, Adam (23 October 2018). "Doctor Who fans in tears after learning truth behind the final scenes of Rosa Parks episode". /metro.co.uk. Metro. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
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