Discovery date 14 September 1955 Alternative names 1955 RD1 · 1971 TZ2 Discovered 14 September 1955 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | MPC designation 1971 Hagihara Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 12.3 | |
Named after Yusuke Hagihara(astronomer) | ||
1971 Hagihara, provisional designation 1955 RD1, is an asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 September 1955, by the Indiana Asteroid Program at the Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 2 months (1,890 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins with its discovery observation in September 1955.
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 12.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.135, which is neither typical for stony nor for carbonaceous bodies. As of 2016, the asteroid's composition and spectral type, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.
The asteroid was named in honour of Yusuke Hagihara (1897–1979) on the occasion of his 81st birthday. He was professor of astronomy at the University of Tokyo and director of the Tokyo Observatory. He also served as vice-president of the International Astronomical Union and was the president of its Commission VII. Hagihara is best known for the discussion of stability problems in celestial mechanics and his theory of libratory motions, as well as for important contributions to the study of the velocity distribution of free electrons in planetary nebulae, and his important five-volume treatise on celestial mechanics. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 4419).