13003 Dickbeasley

13003 Dickbeasley, provisional designation 1982 FN, is a background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station on 21 March 1982.^[2] The asteroid was named in memory of American NAU administrator Dick Beasley.^[2]

13003 Dickbeasley

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	E. Bowell
Discovery site	Anderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date	21 March 1982
Designations
MPC designation	(13003) Dickbeasley
Named after	Dick Beasley (NAU, artist)[2]
Alternative designations	1982 FN · 1982 HJ2
Minor planet category	main-belt · (inner)[3] background
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	34.66 yr (12,661 days)
Aphelion	3.0838 AU
Perihelion	2.0332 AU
Semi-major axis	2.5585 AU
Eccentricity	0.2053
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.09 yr (1,495 days)
Mean anomaly	227.37°
Mean motion	0° 14m 26.88s / day
Inclination	26.560°
Longitude of ascending node	177.56°
Argument of perihelion	33.358°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	5.41 km (calculated)[3] 8.240±0.119 km[4][5]
Synodic rotation period	3.4992±0.0090 h[6] 3.4999±0.0005 h[7] 3.502±0.001 h[8]
Geometric albedo	0.074±0.011[4][5] 0.20 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S (assumed)[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.7[1][3][4] · 14.402±0.008 (S)[6] · 14.25±0.89[9]

Orbit and classification

Dickbeasley is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.0–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,495 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.21 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation, as no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.^[2]

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of American Richard "Dick" E. Beasley (1934–1992), a teacher and administrator at Northern Arizona University. He was also a multi-media artist and a preeminent figure in the calligraphic world.^[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 9 February 2009 (M.P.C. 65122).^[10]

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

In April 2015, a rotational lightcurve of Dickbeasley was obtained from photometric observations made at the Phillips Academy Observatory (I12). It gave a rotation period of 3.502 hours with a brightness variation of 0.44 magnitude (U=3-).^[8] One month later, in May 2015, observations at Texas Tech's Preston Gott Observatory gave a concurring period of 3.4999 hours with an amplitude of 0.30 magnitude (U=3-).^[7]

These results supersede the first obtained lightcurve at the Palomar Transient Factory from September 2012, which gave a period of 3.4992 hours and an amplitude of 0.42 (U=2).^[6]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Dickbeasley measures 8.2 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.07,^[4][5] while he Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 5.4 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.7.^[3]