3754 Kathleen

3754 Kathleen, provisional designation 1931 FM, is a large background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. It was discovered at the Lowell Observatory near Flagstaff, Arizona, on 16 March 1931, by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who named it after his granddaughter Kathleen Clifford.^[1] The assumed C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 11.18 hours.^[4] It is the second-highest numbered main-belt asteroid larger than 50 kilometers.^[14]

3754 Kathleen

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	C. W. Tombaugh
Discovery site	Lowell Obs.
Discovery date	16 March 1931
Designations
MPC designation	(3754) Kathleen
Named after	Kathleen Clifford[1] (Discoverer's granddaughter)
Alternative designations	1931 FM · 1925 BF 1929 WA1 · 1955 MR 1957 WH1 · 1959 CH1 1959 EC1 · 1963 WD 1977 KR · 1978 NM2 1982 DQ4 · 1985 UD4 1987 BK · A909 HE
Minor planet category	main-belt[1][2] · (outer) background[3]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	108.53 yr (39,639 d)
Aphelion	3.4993 AU
Perihelion	2.8168 AU
Semi-major axis	3.1581 AU
Eccentricity	0.1081
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.61 yr (2,050 d)
Mean anomaly	157.55°
Mean motion	0° 10m 32.16s / day
Inclination	8.4535°
Longitude of ascending node	110.50°
Argument of perihelion	55.593°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	53.03 km (derived)[4] 53.23±1.8 km[5] 53.699±0.248 km[6] 54.283±1.200 km[7] 57.27±0.69 km[8] 58.64±20.04 km[9] 59.367±14.24 km[10]
Synodic rotation period	11.16±0.01 h[11] 11.17±0.02 h[11] 11.18±0.01 h[12] 11.2±0.1 h[13]
Geometric albedo	0.0379±0.0217[10] 0.04±0.01[9] 0.0435 (derived)[4] 0.054±0.002[8] 0.0599±0.0072[7] 0.061±0.006[6] 0.0624±0.005[5]
Spectral type	C (assumed)[4]
Absolute magnitude (H)	10.00[5][7][8] 10.30[9] 10.40[2][4][10]

Orbit and classification

Kathleen is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.^[3] It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,050 days; semi-major axis of 3.16 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.^[2] The body's observation arc begins with its first observations as A909 HE at Heidelberg Observatory in April 1909, nearly 22 years prior to its official discovery observation at Flagstaff.^[1]

Physical characteristics

Kathleen is an assumed carbonaceous C-type asteroid.^[4]

Rotation period

Several rotational lightcurves of Kathleen have been obtained from photometric observations since March 2004.^[11][12][13] Analysis of the best-rated lightcurve gave a rotation period of 11.18 hours with a consolidated brightness amplitude between 0.13 and 0.20 magnitude (U=3-).^[4][12]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Kathleen measures between 53.23 and 59.367 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.0379 and 0.0624.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0435 and a diameter of 53.03 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 10.4.^[4] Besides 3925 Tretʹyakov, it is the highest numbered main-belt asteroid larger than 50 kilometers in diameter, of which there are 642 bodies in total, according to the JPL SBDB.^[14]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Kathleen Willoughby Clifford, granddaughter of the discoverer Clyde Tombaugh (1906–1997).^[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 May 1991 (M.P.C. 18306).^[15]