3066 McFadden

3066 McFadden, provisional designation 1984 EO, is a stony background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 1 March 1984, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at the Anderson Mesa Station near Tucson, Arizona. It was named for American planetary scientist Lucy-Ann McFadden.^[1] The assumed S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 13.8 hours.^[3][a]

3066 McFadden

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	E. Bowell
Discovery site	Anderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date	1 March 1984
Designations
MPC designation	(3066) McFadden
Named after	Lucy-Ann McFadden[1] (American astronomer)
Alternative designations	1984 EO · 1933 MA 1936 FE · 1941 MA 1952 FW · 1968 FQ 1976 GC · 1980 EG2
Minor planet category	main-belt[1][2] · (inner)[3] background[4]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	81.60 yr (29,806 d)
Aphelion	2.8636 AU
Perihelion	2.1875 AU
Semi-major axis	2.5255 AU
Eccentricity	0.1339
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.01 yr (1,466 d)
Mean anomaly	328.54°
Mean motion	0° 14m 44.16s / day
Inclination	15.574°
Longitude of ascending node	175.69°
Argument of perihelion	188.31°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	13.526±0.046 km[5] 14.805±0.051 km[6] 14.896 km[7] 14.90 km (taken)[3] 15.27±0.53 km[8] 15.63±0.44 km[9]
Synodic rotation period	13.798±0.002 h[10][a]
Geometric albedo	0.240±0.015[9] 0.2541[7] 0.2617±0.0766[6] 0.275±0.072[8] 0.363±0.033[5]
Spectral type	S (assumed)[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.10[8] · 11.20[2][9] 11.24[3][6] 11.24±0.08[7][11] 11.41±0.25[12]

Orbit and classification

McFadden is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.^[4] It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–2.9 AU once every 4 years (1,466 days; semi-major axis of 2.53 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 16° with respect to the ecliptic.^[2]

The asteroid was first observed as 1933 MA at the Simeis Observatory in June 1933. The body's observation arc begins as 1936 FE at Uccle Observatory in March 1936, or 48 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.^[1]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Lucy-Ann McFadden (born 1952), a planetary scientist at the University of Maryland at the time of naming. Her research included the similarities between the spectra of meteorites and near-Earth objects.^[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 14 April 1987 (M.P.C. 11748).^[13]

Physical characteristics

McFadden is an assumed, stony S-type asteroid.^[3]

Rotation period

In June 2005, a rotational lightcurve of McFadden was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 13.798 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.13 magnitude (U=3).^[10][a]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, McFadden measures between 13.526 and 15.63 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.240 and 0.363.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts Petr Pravec's revised WISE data with an albedo of 0.2541 and a diameter of 14.90 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.24.^[3][7]

Notes

1. Lightcurve plot of 3066 McFadden, Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2005) rotation period of 13.798±0.002 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.13±0.02 mag. Quality code of 3. Summary figures at the LCDB and publication.^[10]