3202 Graff

Orbit and classification

Graff belongs to the Hilda family of asteroids, which are in a 3:2 orbital resonance with the giant planet Jupiter. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 3.5–4.4 AU once every 7 years and 10 months (2,853 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins 3 weeks after its discovery with its first used observation at Heidelberg.

Physical characteristics

The dark C-type asteroid is classified as a rare D-type by Pan-STARRS large-scale survey,

In July 2015, a rotational lightcurve of Graff was obtained by astronomer Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies. It gave a well-defined rotation period of hours with a brightness variation of 0.18 in magnitude ().

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Graff measures 35.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.055. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 36.8 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 10.9.

Naming

This minor planet was named after English-born astronomer Gareth "Graff" Vaughan Williams (born 1965), who identified various low-numbered asteroids among bodies that had been given provisional designations. His work at the Minor Planet Center (MPC) has received much recognition.

The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 10 April 1990 (M.P.C. 16245), based on a suggestion by long-time MPC director Brian G. Marsden (1937–2000) and by Conrad M. Bardwell (1926–2010), associate director of the MPC and who made the identification for this body. The minor planets 1615 Bardwell and 1877 Marsden were named in honor of these two prominent astronomers at the MPC.

References