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2099 Öpik, provisional designation 1977 VB, is a dark and eccentric asteroid and Mars-crosser from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.1 kilometers in diameter.

The asteroid was discovered on 8 November 1977, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California, and named after Estonian astronomer Ernst Öpik.

Orbit and classification

Öpik orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.5–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,277 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.36 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic. The first used precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1970, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 7 years prior to its discovery.

Physical characteristics

Originally, the asteroid's spectral type was that of a bright S-type asteroid in the Tholen classification. More recently, it has been characterized as a dark Ch-type, a hydrated subtype of the carbonaceous C-type asteroids in the SMASS classification, which is in agreement with its low albedo (below).

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Öpik measures 5.17 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.05. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 5.12 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 15.18.

Rotation period

In 2005, a photometric lightcurve analysis by several astronomers including Pierre Antonini, rendered a rotation period of 6.4430±0.0002 hours and with a brightness amplitude of 0.21 in magnitude (U=2), superseding the results of an observation from the 1990s that gave a longer period of 9.3 hours (U=2).

Naming

This minor planet was named after Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist, Ernst Öpik (1893–1985), who has influenced many fields of astronomy during his 60-year long career. He is noted for developing the discipline of statistical celestial mechanics and for methods to estimate the lifetimes of planet-crossing asteroids. In the early 1950s, he calculated the impact probability of Mars-crossing asteroids with Mars, and concluded that a search for impact craters on Mars would be a fruitful. Fourteen years later, Martian craters were discovered by Mariner 4. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 November 1978 (M.P.C. 4548).

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2099 Opik (1977 VB)" (2017-03-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2099) Öpik". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2099) Öpik. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 170. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2100. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "2099 Opik (1977 VB)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
4. ^ "LCDB Data for (2099) Öpik". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 7 December 2016.
5. ^ Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T.; et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 12. arXiv:1606.08923. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...63N. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63.
6. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (2099) Öpik". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
7. ^ Goretti, V. (December 2000). "CCD Photometry of the Mars-crosser Asteroid 2099 Opik". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 27: 46. Bibcode:2000MPBu...27...46G. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
8. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). "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. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Mars-crossing asteroids
• Discoveries by Eleanor F. Helin
• Named minor planets
• S-type asteroids (Tholen)
• Ch-type asteroids (SMASS)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1977