15017 Cuppy

15017 Cuppy, provisional designation 1998 SS₂₅, is a Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 September 1998, by the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) at its Anderson Mesa Station, Arizona, United States.^[5] The asteroid was named for American humorist Will Cuppy.^[2]

15017 Cuppy

Cuppy view from Auburn, Indiana, using a 40.5 cm RCOS telescope in July 2004
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	LONEOS
Discovery site	Anderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date	22 September 1998
Designations
MPC designation	(15017) Cuppy
Named after	Will Cuppy (American humorist)[2]
Alternative designations	1998 SS25
Minor planet category	main-belt · (inner) Flora
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	25.30 yr (9,242 days)
Aphelion	2.7011 AU
Perihelion	1.9517 AU
Semi-major axis	2.3264 AU
Eccentricity	0.1611
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.55 yr (1,296 days)
Mean anomaly	94.456°
Mean motion	0° 16m 40.08s / day
Inclination	6.2109°
Longitude of ascending node	63.826°
Argument of perihelion	347.85°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	1.795±0.226[3] 2 km (estimated at 0.25)[4]
Geometric albedo	0.500±0.219[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	15.6[1]

Orbit and classification

Cuppy orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,296 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] The body's observation arc begins 7 years prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in October 1991.^[5]

Physical characteristics

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Cuppy measures 1.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.50.^[3] This is in line with a generic absolute magnitude-to-diameter conversion, which gives a diameter of approximately 2 kilometers for an absolute magnitude of 15.6 and an assumed albedo of 0.2 to 0.25, which is typical for stony asteroids of the inner asteroid belt.^[4] As of 2017, Cuppy's composition, rotation period and shape remain unknown.^[1][6]

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of American literary critic and humorist, Will Cuppy (1884–1949). He is known for his satirical books The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, How to Attract the Wombat, How to Become Extinct and How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes. The name was proposed by M. Walter. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 10 September 2003 (M.P.C. 49675).^[2][7]