46610 Bésixdouze

46610 Bésixdouze

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	K. Endate K. Watanabe
Discovery site	Kitami Obs.
Discovery date	15 October 1993
Designations
MPC designation	(46610) Bésixdouze
Pronunciation	French pronunciation: [be.sis.duːz]
Named after	Asteroid B-612 [2] (home of The Little Prince)
Alternative designations	1993 TQ1 · 1986 RU7 2000 VV32
Minor planet category	main-belt [1] · {(inner) background [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	31.55 yr (11,525 days)
Aphelion	2.6816 AU
Perihelion	1.8581 AU
Semi-major axis	2.2698 AU
Eccentricity	0.1814
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.42 yr (1,249 days)
Mean anomaly	52.86°
Mean motion	0° 17^m 17.52^s / day
Inclination	2.4053°
Longitude of ascending node	172.13°
Argument of perihelion	211.83°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	2.064±0.499 km[4]
Geometric albedo	0.262±0.054[4]
Absolute magnitude (H)	15.4[1]

46610 Bésixdouze (French pronunciation: [be.sis.duːz]; provisional designation 1993 TQ₁) is a bright background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 October 1993, by Japanese amateur astronomers Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe at the Kitami Observatory in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan.^[5] The asteroid was named after "B-612", home of The Little Prince.^[2]

Orbit and classification

Bésixdouze is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.^[3] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,249 days; semi-major axis of 2.27 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

The asteroid was first identified as 1986 RU₇ at Crimea–Nauchnij in a single image taken in September 1986.^[1][5]

Physical characteristics

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Bésixdouze measures 2.064 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.262,^[4] which is indicative for a stony composition.

Rotation period

As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Bésixdouze has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.^[1][6]

Naming

The name was suggested by F. Hemery and Jiří Grygar as a reference to the French novella The Little Prince. The title character lived on an asteroid named B-612, which is the number 46610 written in hexadecimal notation. Bésixdouze (French pronunciation: [be.sis.duːz]; "B-six-twelve") is one way to pronounce B-612 in French.^[2] Like the asteroid in The Little Prince, Bésixdouze was first observed in a single night, several years before its official discovery.^[5]

The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 November 2002 (M.P.C. 47170).^[7] It says:

"The decimal number 46610 translates to the hexadecimal B612, the designation of the fictitious minor planet in de St. Exupéry's 1943 novel Le Petit Prince. B612 was allegedly spotted on a single night in 1909 and reported at a meeting in 1920. The name was suggested independently by F. Hémery and J. Grygar."^[1]

See also

• 2578 Saint-Exupéry
• B612 Foundation
• Petit-Prince (moon)

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 46610 Besixdouze (1993 TQ1)" (2017-11-02 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(46610) Bésixdouze". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (46610) Bésixdouze. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 895. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_10040. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. "Asteroid 46610 Besixdouze – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
4. 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 30 November 2017.
5. "46610 Besixdouze (1993 TQ1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
6. "LCDB Data for (46610) Bésixdouze". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 November 2017.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (45001)-(50000) – Minor Planet Center
• 46610 Bésixdouze at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 46610 Bésixdouze at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters