9936 Al-Biruni

9936 Al-Biruni
	Orbit of Al-Biruni (blue) compared to the inner planets and Jupiter (outermost)
Discovery
Discovered by	E. W. Elst; V. Ivanova
Discovery site	Rozhen Obs.
Discovery date	8 August 1986
Designations
MPC designation	(9936) Al-Biruni
Pronunciation	/ælbɪˈruːni/
Named after	البيروني al-Bīrūnī; (Persian astronomer)
Alternative designations	1986 PN4 · 1981 UV12
Minor planet category	main-belt · (outer)
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	35.62 yr (13,009 days)
Aphelion	3.6534 AU
Perihelion	2.5107 AU
Semi-major axis	3.0820 AU
Eccentricity	0.1854
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.41 yr (1,976 days)
Mean anomaly	279.59°
Mean motion	0° 10m 55.92s / day
Inclination	15.404°
Longitude of ascending node	310.41°
Argument of perihelion	13.774°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	22.16 km (calculated); 23.890±0.170; 24.187±0.314 km; 27.81±1.61 km
Synodic rotation period	10.704±0.010 h
Geometric albedo	0.048±0.006; 0.057 (assumed); 0.0632±0.0151; 0.065±0.012
Spectral type	C
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.1 · 11.7 · 12.0

9936 Al-Biruni, provisional designation 1986 PN₄, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 24 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1986, by Belgian and Bulgarian astronomers Eric Elst and Violeta Ivanova at the Rozhen Observatory, located in Bulgaria's Smolyan province near the border to Greece.^[9] It was named for Persian medieval scholar Al-Biruni.^[3]

Orbit and classification

Al-Biruni orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.5–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 5 months (1,976 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] It was first identified as 1981 UV₁₂ at Crimea-Nauchnij in 1981, extending the body's observation arc by 5 years prior to its official discovery at Rozhen.^[9]

Lightcurve

A rotational lightcurve of Al-Biruni was obtained from photometric observations made at the U.S. Goodsell Observatory (741), Minnesota, in August 2002. The lightcurve gave a rotation period of 10.704±0.010 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.14 in magnitude (U=2)^[8]

Diameter and albedo

According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Al-Biruni measures between 23.9 and 27.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has a corresponding albedo of 0.048 to 0.065.^[5]^[6]^[7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 22.2 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.0.^[4]

Naming

The minor planet was named after the Persian scholar and polymath Al-Biruni (973–1048). Regarded as the founder of Indology and the father of geodesy, he made important contributions to anthropology, mathematics and astronomy. In particular, he is known for developing a method for the summation of series, for solving algebraic equations, and for the triangulation of distances on Earth's surface.^[3] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 September 2007 (M.P.C. 60728).^[10] The lunar crater Al-Biruni is also named in his honour.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 9936 Al-Biruni (1986 PN4)" (2017-06-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
^ The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography (1973)
^ ^a ^b ^c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (9936) Al-Biruni. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 712. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "LCDB Data for (9936) Al-Biruni". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 13 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c 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. S2CID 118745497. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. S2CID 118700974. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Usui, 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)
^ ^a ^b Clark, Maurice; Joyce, Brian (December 2002). "Asteroid lightcurve photometry from Goodsell Observatory (741)". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 30 (1): 4–7. Bibcode:2003MPBu...30....4C. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
^ ^a ^b "9936 Al-Biruni (1986 PN4)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

External links

Rozhen Observatory, Smolyan, Bulgaria
Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (5001)-(10000) – Minor Planet Center
9936 Al-Biruni at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
9936 Al-Biruni at the JPL Small-Body Database
- Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

[jpldata-1] "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 9936 Al-Biruni (1986 PN4)" (2017-06-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 22 June 2017.

[2] The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography (1973)

[springer-3] Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (9936) Al-Biruni. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 712. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

[lcdb-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "LCDB Data for (9936) Al-Biruni". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 13 May 2016.

[Masiero-2011-5] 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. S2CID 118745497. Retrieved 4 December 2016.

[WISE-6] Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. S2CID 118700974. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

[AKARI-7] Usui, 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)

[Clark-2003-8] Clark, Maurice; Joyce, Brian (December 2002). "Asteroid lightcurve photometry from Goodsell Observatory (741)". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 30 (1): 4–7. Bibcode:2003MPBu...30....4C. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 18 December 2015.

[MPC-Al-Biruni-9] "9936 Al-Biruni (1986 PN4)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

[MPC-Circulars-Archive-10] "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

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