6708 Bobbievaile

6708 Bobbievaile, provisional designation 1989 AA₅, is a stony background asteroid and asynchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 4 January 1989, by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia.^[6] It is named after Bobbie Vaile.^[2]

6708 Bobbievaile

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	R. H. McNaught
Discovery site	Siding Spring Obs.
Discovery date	4 January 1989
Designations
MPC designation	(6708) Bobbievaile
Named after	Bobbie Vaile (astrophysicist)[2]
Alternative designations	1989 AA5 · 1979 PF 1989 CM9 · 1994 LB
Minor planet category	main-belt · (inner)[3] background
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	37.81 yr (13,811 days)
Aphelion	2.8864 AU
Perihelion	2.0045 AU
Semi-major axis	2.4455 AU
Eccentricity	0.1803
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.82 yr (1,397 days)
Mean anomaly	349.25°
Mean motion	0° 15m 27.72s / day
Inclination	12.076°
Longitude of ascending node	115.81°
Argument of perihelion	193.50°
Known satellites	1 (period: 24.7 h)[4][3]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	8.074±0.176 km[5]
Synodic rotation period	12.3415±0.0004 h[3]
Geometric albedo	0.169±0.016[5]
Spectral type	S[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.1[1]

Orbit and classification

Bobbievaile is a stony, non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,397 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

It was first observed as 1979 PF at El Leoncito in 1979, extending the body's observation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Siding Spring.^[6]

Binary asteroid

On 7 May 2009, it was announced that Bobbievaile was determined to be a binary asteroid based on a series of lightcurve observations. Bobbievaile (the primary) is estimated to have a diameter of 8.02±0.02 km, and its minor-planet moon (the secondary) to have a diameter of approximately 4.57 km.^[4] The primary is probably spherical.

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of Australian astrophysicist Roberta Anne "Bobbie" Vaile (1959–1996), lecturer at Western Sydney University. She was a SETI enthusiast and participated in both the establishment of the SETI Australia Centre and the conduction of Project Phoenix.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 April 1997 (M.P.C. 29671).^[7]