8549 Alcide

8549 Alcide, provisional designation 1994 FS, is a stony Nysa asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1994, by a group of amateur astronomers at the Farra d'Isonzo Observatory, Italy, near the border to Slovenia.^[8] It was named for Alcide Bittesini, father of co-discoverer Luciano Bittesini.^[2]

8549 Alcide

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Farra d'Isonzo Obs. (inc. Luciano Bittesini)
Discovery site	Farra d'Isonzo Obs.
Discovery date	30 March 1994
Designations
MPC designation	(8549) Alcide
Named after	Alcide Bittesini (father of co-discoverer)[2]
Alternative designations	1994 FS
Minor planet category	main-belt · Nysa[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	23.31 yr (8,514 days)
Aphelion	2.8912 AU
Perihelion	1.9828 AU
Semi-major axis	2.4370 AU
Eccentricity	0.1864
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.80 yr (1,390 days)
Mean anomaly	318.71°
Mean motion	0° 15m 32.76s / day
Inclination	1.8790°
Longitude of ascending node	205.61°
Argument of perihelion	64.719°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4.19 km (calculated)[3] 4.341±0.076 km[4][5]
Synodic rotation period	3 h[6]
Geometric albedo	0.196±0.012[4][5] 0.21 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.2[1][3][4] · 14.3±0.4 (R)[6] · 14.73±0.25[7]

Orbit and classification

Alcide is a member of the stony subgroup of the Nysa family, one of the smaller families in the main-belt, named after its namesake, 44 Nysa. The body orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,390 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] Precoveries were taken at Palomar and Steward Observatory (Kitt Peak) just weeks and days prior to the asteroid's official discovery observation at Farra d'Isonzo.^[8]

Physical characteristics

Lightcurves

A rotational lightcurve of Alcide was obtained from photometric observations made by astronomer David Polishook at the ground-based Wise Observatory, Israel, in November 2007. The lightcurve gave a rotation period of 3 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.2 magnitude (U=2-).^[6]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Alcide measures 4.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.195,^[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.21 and calculates a diameter of 4.2 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.2.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named for Italian high-school teacher of natural sciences, Alcide Bittesini (1913–1981). He was the father of amateur astronomer Luciano Bittesini, who co-discovered the asteroid with his amateur colleagues at the Farra d'Isonzo Observatory in Italy.^[2]

At the age of 9, his father fostered his interest in astronomy, when they observed a comet with a homespun telescope made of a pair of glasses, a tin can and a microscope eyepiece.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 February 1999 (M.P.C. 33791).^[9]