8991 Solidarity

8991 Solidarity, provisional designation 1980 PV₁, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 August 1980, by observers at ESO's La Silla Observatory site in northern Chile.^[8] The asteroid was named in response to the September 11 attacks.^[2]

8991 Solidarity

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	ESO
Discovery site	La Silla Obs.
Discovery date	6 August 1980
Designations
MPC designation	(8991) Solidarity
Named after	Solidarity (in memory of 9/11)[2]
Alternative designations	1980 PV1 · 1975 QB 1979 HC1 · 1985 SD3 1988 FR3 · 1988 GW2
Minor planet category	main-belt · (middle)[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	41.57 yr (15,183 days)
Aphelion	3.2956 AU
Perihelion	2.2799 AU
Semi-major axis	2.7877 AU
Eccentricity	0.1822
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.65 yr (1,700 days)
Mean anomaly	70.461°
Mean motion	0° 12m 42.48s / day
Inclination	6.7882°
Longitude of ascending node	286.51°
Argument of perihelion	312.52°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	8.385±0.342 km[4][5] 12.88 km (calculated)[3]
Synodic rotation period	5.2388±0.0034 h[6]
Geometric albedo	0.057 (assumed)[3] 0.174±0.022[4][5]
Spectral type	C[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.37±1.03[7] · 12.729±0.003 (R)[6] · 12.8[1] · 12.9[4] · 13.18[3]

Orbit and classification

Solidarity orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.3–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,700 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] The first used observation was made at Cerro El Roble Observatory in 1979, extending the body's observation arc by 1 year prior to its official discovery observation at La Silla.^[8]

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

In January 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Solidarity was obtained from photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. It gave a rotation period of 5.2388 hours with a brightness variation of 0.19 magnitude (U=2).^[6]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Solidarity measures 8.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.17,^[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 12.9 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.18.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named "Solidarity" in response to the September 11 attacks. As a commemorative gesture, the IAU's Committee for the Nomenclature of Small Bodies chose three objects discovered in observatories on different continents and christened them with names representing some of the most basic and universal human values. The other two selections were 8990 Compassion (discovered from Europe) and 8992 Magnanimity (discovered from Asia).^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 October 2001 (M.P.C. 43684).^[9]