116903 Jeromeapt

116903 Jeromeapt, provisional designation 2004 GW, is an asteroid of the Massalia family from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 11 April 2004, by American astronomer Jim Young at the Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, California, in the United States. The asteroid was named for American astronaut Jerome Apt.[1]

116903 Jeromeapt
Discovery [1]
Discovered byJ. W. Young
Discovery siteTable Mountain Obs.
Discovery date11 April 2004
Designations
(116903) Jeromeapt
Named after
Jerome Apt [1]
(American astronaut)
2004 GW · 2001 RS104
main-belt [1][2] · (inner)
Massalia [3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc17.80 yr (6,501 d)
Aphelion2.8746 AU
Perihelion2.0238 AU
2.4492 AU
Eccentricity0.1737
3.83 yr (1,400 d)
265.16°
0° 15m 25.56s / day
Inclination1.5343°
147.08°
128.95°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
1.1 km (est. at 0.22)[4]
17.1[1][2]

    Orbit and classification

    Jeromeapt is a member of the Massalia family (404),[3] a large family of stony S-type asteroids with low inclinations. It orbits the Sun in the inner main belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,400 days; semi-major axis of 2.45 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The asteroid's observation arc begins more than 2 years prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken by Spacewatch at the Steward Observatory in February 2002.[1]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named in honor of American Jerome Apt (born 1949), who was the discovering observatory's director and also an astronaut on four Space Shuttle missions in the 1990s. At the time of naming this asteroid, he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center 29 October 2012 (M.P.C. 81070).[5]

    Physical characteristics

    Since Massalia asteroids are of silicaceous rather than carbonaceous composition, with an albedo typically around 0.22 (also see list of families),[6] Jeromeapt possibly measures 1.1 kilometer in diameter,[4] based on an absolute magnitude of 17.1.[2] As of 2018, the asteroid's effective size, its composition and albedo, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.[2][7]

    References
    1. "116903 Jeromeapt (2004 GW)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 116903 Jeromeapt (2004 GW)" (2017-11-26 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    3. "Asteroid 116903 Jeromeapt". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    4. "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
    5. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    6. Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families. Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
    7. "LCDB Data for (116903) Jeromeapt". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 28 June 2017.

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