Discovered by E. W. Elst MPC designation 10551 Göteborg Observation arc 85.42 yr (31,198 days) Orbits Sun Named after Gothenburg (Swedish city) Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 18 December 1992 Minor planet category main-belt · Eos Discovered 18 December 1992 Discoverer Eric Walter Elst Asteroid family Eos family | |
Alternative names 1992 YL2 · 1931 AK
1994 EB3 Discovery site Centre de recherches en géodynamique et astrométrie | ||
10551 Göteborg, provisional designation 1992 YL2, is a stony Eos asteroid and slow rotator from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 December 1992, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst at Caussols Observatory in southeastern France.
The S-type asteroid is a member of the Eos family, an orbital group of more than 4,000 asteroids, which are well known for mostly being of stony composition with a relatively high albedo. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.8–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 2 months (1,891 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery taken at the U.S. Lowell Observatory in 1931, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 61 years prior to its discovery.
In September 2012, photometric observations at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory, California, rendered an rotational light-curve that showed a period of 7002335345800000000♠335.3458±4.6612 hours, or 14 days, with a brightness amplitude of 0.70 in magnitude (U=2). A body of this size usually rotates within hours once around its axis. According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 15.5 and 15.7 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.08 and 0.12, respectively, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.14 and calculates a diameter of 11.5 kilometers.
The minor planet is named after Sweden's second-largest city and the largest port in the Nordic countries, Göteborg (Gothenburg), located on the country's southwest coast. Founded in the early 17th century and heavily influenced by the Dutch, the city still has its typical canal system. Later, the Swedes acquired political power over Gothenburg and the city flourished with the development of the Swedish East India Company in the early 18th century. Naming citation was published on 20 March 2000 (M.P.C. 39655).