51825 Davidbrown

51825 Davidbrown (provisional designation 2001 OQ₃₃) is an Eoan asteroid in the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 July 2001, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named for American astronaut David Brown, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.^[5]

51825 Davidbrown

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	NEAT
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	19 July 2001
Designations
MPC designation	(51825) Davidbrown
Named after	David McDowell Brown[2] (American astronaut)
Alternative designations	2001 OQ33 · 1994 CZ14 1999 CO55
Minor planet category	main-belt · (outer) Eos[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	23.79 yr (8,691 days)
Aphelion	3.1755 AU
Perihelion	2.7587 AU
Semi-major axis	2.9671 AU
Eccentricity	0.0702
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.11 yr (1,867 days)
Mean anomaly	316.75°
Mean motion	0° 11m 34.08s / day
Inclination	9.6190°
Longitude of ascending node	23.457°
Argument of perihelion	33.210°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4.913±0.760 km[4]
Geometric albedo	0.184±0.032[4]
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.2[1]

Orbit and classification

Davidbrown is a member the Eos family (606),^[3] the largest family in the outer asteroid belt consisting of nearly 10,000 K-type asteroids.^[6]: 23 It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 1 month (1,867 days; semi-major axis of 2.97 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as 1994 CZ₁₄ at ESO's La Silla Observatory in February 1994, more than 7 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.^[5]

Physical characteristics

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Davidbrown measures 4.913 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.184.^[4]

Rotation period

As of 2017, no rotational lightcurve of Davidbrown has been obtained from photometric observations. The asteroid's rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.^[1][7]

Naming

This minor planet was named after American astronaut and mission specialist David McDowell Brown, who was killed in the Columbia space shuttle reentry disaster on 1 February 2003.^[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 August 2003 (M.P.C. 49283).^[8] The following asteroids were also named in memory of the other six members of STS-107: 51823 Rickhusband, 51824 Mikeanderson, 51826 Kalpanachawla, 51827 Laurelclark, 51828 Ilanramon and 51829 Williemccool.