5175 Ables

5175 Ables (provisional designation 1988 VS₄) is a bright Hungaria asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, California, on 4 November 1988.^[9] It was named after American astronomer Harold Ables.^[2]

5175 Ables

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	C. S. Shoemaker E. M. Shoemaker
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	4 November 1988
Designations
MPC designation	(5175) Ables
Named after	Harold Ables (American astronomer)[2]
Alternative designations	1988 VS4 · 1990 KH
Minor planet category	main-belt · Hungaria[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	62.95 yr (22,993 days)
Aphelion	2.0438 AU
Perihelion	1.8908 AU
Semi-major axis	1.9673 AU
Eccentricity	0.0389
Orbital period (sidereal)	2.76 yr (1,008 days)
Mean anomaly	9.7153°
Mean motion	0° 21m 25.92s / day
Inclination	16.847°
Longitude of ascending node	234.51°
Argument of perihelion	313.87°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4.29±0.23 km[4] 5.31 km (calculated)[3] 5.697±0.024 km[5]
Synodic rotation period	2.7976±0.0005 h[6] 2.798±0.001 h[7]
Geometric albedo	0.2897±0.0604[5] 0.30 (assumed)[3] 0.505±0.074[4]
Spectral type	E[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.3[1][3] · 13.2[5][4] · 13.83±0.37[8]

Orbit and classification

Ables is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System.

It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.0 AU once every 2 years and 9 months (1,008 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 17° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] A first precovery was obtained at Palomar Observatory in 1954, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 34 years prior to its official discovery observation.^[9]

Physical characteristics

Ables has been characterized as a bright E-type asteroid.^[3]

Diameter and albedo

Based on the surveys carried out by the NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Ables has an albedo of 0.29 and 0.51, with a corresponding diameter of 5.7 and 4.3 kilometers, respectively,^[5][4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.30 and calculates a diameter of 5.3 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.3.^[3]

Lightcurves

Between 2010 and 2014, three rotational lightcurves of Ables have been obtained by American astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station (714) in Colorado. The best result gave a short rotation period of 2.798 hours with a brightness variation of 0.10 magnitude (U=3).^[10][7][6]

Naming

This minor planet was named after American astronomer Harold D. Ables (born 1938). While director at the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS), he was responsible for the station's transition from photographic plates to CCD imaging. The body's name was suggested by the JPL Ephemeris Group and subsequently proposed by the discoverers.^[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 July 1996 (M.P.C. 27459).^[11]