1982 Cline, provisional designation 1975 VA, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 November 1975, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at Palomar Observatory in California, and named after Edwin Lee Cline, inventor and friend of the discoverer.[2][10]
The body's first and only rotational lightcurve of Cline was obtained by American astronomer James W. Birnsfield at the Via Capote Observatory (G69), California, in November 2011. It gave a well-defined rotation period of 5.78±0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.36 in magnitude (U=3).[8]
According to the survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the latest data from the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Cline measures 7.2 and 8.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.194 of 0.34, respectively.[5][6] Previous results by WISE/NEOWISE also gave a diameter of 6.03 and 8.4 kilometers.[4][7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 8.18 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.8.[3]
Naming
This minor planet was named in memory of Edwin Lee Cline, a friend of the discoverer and a known inventor in the automotive field who "looked to space as the new frontier".[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 18 April 1977 (M.P.C. 4158).[11]
^ abcdUsui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
^Schmadel, Lutz D. "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN978-3-642-01964-7.