516 Amherstia

Amherstia (minor planet designation: 516 Amherstia) was the 8th asteroid discovered by Raymond Smith Dugan, and was named after Amherst College, his alma mater. Amherstia is a large M-type asteroid, with an estimated diameter of 73 km. It follows an eccentric orbit between Jupiter and Mars, with an orbital period of 4.39 years.

516 Amherstia
A three-dimensional model of 516 Amherstia based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered byRaymond Smith Dugan
Discovery date20 September 1903
Designations
(516) Amherstia
Named after
Amherst College
1903 MG; 1938 YO
Main belt
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc112.26 yr (41003 d)
Aphelion3.4103 AU (510.17 Gm)
Perihelion1.95161 AU (291.957 Gm)
2.68094 AU (401.063 Gm)
Eccentricity0.27204
4.39 yr (1603.4 d)
26.3259°
0° 13m 28.308s / day
Inclination12.960°
328.839°
257.966°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions73.1 km; 69.84 ± 4.38 km[2]
Mean radius
36.55±0.85 km [1]
Mass(1.43 ± 1.33) × 1018 kg [2] 4.1×1017 kg
Mean density
2.0 g/cm³
0.312 d [3]
7.49 h (0.312 d) [1]
0.163–0.173 [4]
0.1627±0.008 [1]
M-type asteroid
8.27

    In 1989, the asteroid was observed from the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, allowing a light curve to be produced that showed an estimated rotation period of 7.49 hours and a brightness variation of 0.25 ± 0.01 in magnitude.[5]

    References
    1. Yeomans, Donald K., "516 Amherstia", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 8 May 2016.
    2. Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
    3. 1 Archived 27 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine
    4. 2 Archived 16 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine
    5. Dotto, E.; et al. (June 1992), "M-type asteroids - Rotational properties of 16 objects", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, 95 (2), pp. 195–211, Bibcode:1992A&AS...95..195D.


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