29292 Conniewalker (provisional designation 1993 KZ1) is a bright, stony Phocaea asteroid and slow tumbler from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 May 1993, by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker and Canadian astronomer David Levy at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States.[10]

29292 Conniewalker
Discovery [1]
Discovered byC. Shoemaker
D. H. Levy
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date24 May 1993
Designations
(29292) Conniewalker
Named after
Connie Walker
(astronomer)[2]
1993 KZ1
main-belt · Phocaea[3][4]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc33.43 yr (12,212 days)
Aphelion2.8157 AU
Perihelion1.8802 AU
2.3480 AU
Eccentricity0.1992
3.60 yr (1,314 days)
259.91°
0° 16m 26.04s / day
Inclination25.552°
89.840°
170.01°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.57 km (taken)[3]
4.571 km[5]
4.581±0.217 km[6][7]
30.5 h[a]
30.6±0.05 h[8]
0.3097[5]
0.367±0.049[7]
0.3674±0.0485[6]
S[3]
13.10[a] · 13.4[6] · 13.5[1] · 13.59[3][5] · 14.03[9]

Orbit and classification

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Conniewalker is a member of the Phocaea family of stony asteroids (701).[4] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,314 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 26° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] A first precovery was obtained at the Siding Spring Observatory in 1983, extending the body's observation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation.[10]

Physical characteristics

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Rotation period

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In 2011, rotational lightcurves of Conniewalker were obtained at the Via Capote Observatory in California (G69) and at the Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 30.5 and 30.6 hours, with a brightness amplitude of 0.63 and 0.62 magnitude, respectively (U=2/3-).[8][a]

Conniewalker is a tumbler. The non-principal axis rotation (NPAR) has been observed during 22 sessions over a 46-day period.[3][8] The slow tumbler had previously been a target in ASU's Photometric Survey for Asynchronous Binary Asteroids.[11]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Conniewalker measures 4.581 kilometers in diameter and has a bright surface albedo of 0.367.[6][7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the revised WISE-data by Petr Pravec, that is, an albedo of 0.3097 and a diameter of 4.571 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.10.[3][5]

Naming

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This minor planet was named in honor of American astronomer Connie Walker (born 1957), who has examined the formation of stars in galaxies in varying stages of development. She is well known for the educational Project Astro-Tucson and her successful work in astronomy with children and young adults in Arizona.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 7 January 2004 (M.P.C. 50464).[12]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Pravec (2011): lightcurve plot of (29292) Conniewalker with a rotation period 30.5 hours and a brightness amplitude of 0.63 mag. LCDB assigns a quality code of 2, which means a result based on less than full coverage, so that the period may be wrong by 30 percent or so. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 29292 Conniewalker (1993 KZ1)" (2017-02-17 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(29292) Conniewalker [2.35, 0.20, 25.6]". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (29292) Conniewalker [2.35, 0.20, 25.6]. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 194. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5_2276. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (29292) Conniewalker". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Asteroid 29292 Conniewalker – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  6. ^ 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. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  7. ^ 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. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Brinsfield, James W.; Pray, Donald; Pravec, Petr (July 2012). "The Lightcurve of 29292 Conniewalker". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 39 (3): 156–157. Bibcode:2012MPBu...39..156B. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  9. ^ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  10. ^ a b "29292 Conniewalker (1993 KZ1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Photometric Survey for Asynchronous Binary Asteroids". Astronomical Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  12. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
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