8013 Gordonmoore, provisional designation 1990 KA, is an eccentric, stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 1–2 kilometers in diameter.
Gordonmoore orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.3–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,192 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.43 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
A first precovery was taken at the discovering Palomar Observatory in 1951, extending the body's observation arc by 39 years prior to its official discovery observation.[3]
Physical characteristics
Rotation period
In April 2016, a rotational lightcurve of Gordonmoore was obtained from photometric observations by astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station (716) in Colorado. It gave a rotation period of 8.40 hours with a brightness variation of 0.25 magnitude. Lightcurve analysis also gave an alternative period solution of 4.19 hours with an amplitude of 0.25 magnitude. (U=2).[6] The results supersede a previous observations made at the Hoher List Observatory in Germany, that gave a shorter period of 6 hours (U=1).[5]
Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 1.04 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 17.26.[4] In the 1990s, Tom Gehrels estimated the body's diameter to be 2.3 kilometers, assuming an albedo of 0.15.[1]
Naming
This minor planet was named in honour of American entrepreneur and billionaire, Gordon Moore (1929-2023), co-founder of Intel, known for his revolutionary vision of the future of computers, and author of Moore's law. As a philanthropist, Moore has supported research and education all his life.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 May 2002 (M.P.C. 45747).[9]
