5535 Annefrank
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Image of 5535 Annefrank taken by the Stardust space probe in 2002
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Discovery[1]
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| Discovered by | Karl Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg |
| Discovery date | 1942-03-23 |
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Designations
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| Minor planet category |
Main belt  Augusta family |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 6.6 x 5.0 x 3.4 km Diameter: 4.8 km[1] |
| Sidereal rotation period |
Multiple possible values[2] |
| Albedo | 0.18–0.24[3] |
| Spectral type | S[3] |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.2[1] |
5535 Annefrank (pronounced /ˌæn ˈfrænk/) is an inner main belt asteroid, and member of the Augusta family. It was discovered by Karl Reinmuth in 1942. It is named after Anne Frank, the Dutch-Jewish diarist who died in a concentration camp (the name was not chosen until about 1995). The asteroid was used as a target to practice the flyby technique that the Stardust space probe would later use on the comet Wild 2.[3]
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[edit] Orbit
Annefrank orbits among the main belt asteroids, with its shortest axis aligned roughly normal to its orbital plane.[3]
[edit] Physical characteristics
On November 2, 2002, the Stardust space probe flew past Annefrank at a distance of 3079 km. Its images show the asteroid to be 6.6 × 5.0 × 3.4 km, twice as big as previously thought, shaped like a triangular prism, with several visible impact craters.[3] From the photographs, the albedo of Annefrank was computed to be between 0.18 and 0.24.[3] Preliminary analysis of the Stardust imagery suggests that Annefrank may be a contact binary, although other possible explanations exist for its observed shape.[3]
Later ground based lightcurve data was used in an attempt to measure Annefrank's rotational period. Their data resulted in possible rotational periods of 0.5, 0.63 or 0.95 days, with 0.63 days fitting the data best.[2] The lightcurve data also suggests that the asteroid is not Lambertian, meaning that surface features, such as shadows from boulders and craters, play a role in the object's perceived brightness and not just the asteroid's relative size when seen from that orientation.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 5535 Annefrank |
- NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 5535 Annefrank
- A page with images from the Stardust flyby
- Ted Stryk's Stardust page, including enhanced images of 5535 Annefrank
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 5535 Annefrank
- ^ a b Schmidt, B. E.; Bauer, J.; Buratti, B. J.; and Russell, C. T. (March 12-16, 2007). "Rotational Light Curve and Rotation Period of 5535 Annefrank". 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference: 1859. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007LPI....38.1859S.
- ^ a b c d e f g Duxbury, T. C.; et al. (February 2004). "Asteroid 5535 Annefrank size, shape, and orientation: Stardust first results". Journal of geophysical research e 109. doi:. http://hdl.handle.net/2014/7110.
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