Discovery date 25 March 1971 Alternative names 1971 FH Orbits Sun Discovery site Palomar Observatory | MPC designation 1873 Agenor Discovered 25 March 1971 Named after Agenor (Greek mythology) Asteroid group Jupiter trojan | |
Discovered by C. J. van Houten
I. van Houten-G.
T. Gehrels Pronunciation əˈdʒiːnɔːr (ə-jee'-nor) Minor planet category Jupiter trojan
(Trojan camp) Discoverers Tom Gehrels, Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld People also search for 4722 Agelaos, 5144 Achates | ||
1873 Agenor (ə-JEE'-nor), provisional designation 1971 FH, is a dark Jupiter trojan from the Trojan camp, approximately 53 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 25 March 1971, by Dutch astronomer couple Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in the Palomar Mountain Range, southeast of Los Angeles.
The Trojan asteroid dwells in the L5 Lagrangian point, 60° behind Jupiter in the so-called "Trojan camp". It orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.7–5.7 AU once every 11 years and 12 months (4,373 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 22° with respect to the ecliptic. As no precoveries were taken, the body's observation arc begins with its discovery observation in 1971.
In February 1994, photometric observations with the ESO 1-metre telescope by astronomer Stefano Mottola and Anders Erikson at La Silla Observatory in Chile, were used to build a rotational light-curve showing a rotation period of 7001206000000000000♠20.60±0.03 hours with a brightness variation of 6998800000000000000♠0.08±0.01 in magnitude (U=2). The C-type asteroid has an albedo of 0.038 and 0.062, and a diameter of 50.8 and 54.4 kilometers as measured by the space-based Akari and WISE/NEOWISE missions, respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.056 and a diameter of 53.9 kilometers.
The discovery was made in a survey of faint Trojans, one night after the discovery of 1870 Glaukos. The trio of Dutch and Dutch–American astronomers also collaborated on the productive Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s, using the same procedure as for this (smaller) survey: Tom Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Cornelis and Ingrid van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out.
The minor planet was named for Agenor, who was able to inflict a wound on the Greek warrior Achilles. The Olympian deity Apollo assumed Agenor's form to distract Achilles while the Trojans forces were retreating. The minor planets 588 Achilles and 1862 Apollo are named after these two figures from Greek mythology. The body's name was suggested by Brian G. Marsden, the then director of the MPC. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 3826).