Discovered by P. Wild MPC designation 2429 Schurer Discovered 12 October 1977 | Discovery date 12 October 1977 Alternative names 1977 TZ · A915 TB Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Max Schürer(astronomer) Similar Sun, 170 Maria, 714 Ulula, 695 Bella, 3552 Don Quixote | ||
2429 Schürer, provisional designation 1977 TZ, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland, on 12 October 1977.
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) classifies the asteroid as a member of the Eunomia family, a large group of S-type asteroids and the most prominent family in the intermediate main-belt. However, based on its concurring orbital elements, Alvarez-Candal from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, groups the asteroid into the Maria family, which is named after 170 Maria (also see 9175 Graun).
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.3–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,507 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's rotation period has been determined by three different photometric light-curve observations, that gave a period between 6.7 and 7.5 hours. The asteroid's albedo amounts to 0.10–0.20, according to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite (0.10) and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission (0.12 and 0.20), while CALL assumes an albedo of 0.21, which results in the lowest of all estimated diameters for the body (12.1 km).
The minor planet was named in honor of Swiss astronomer Max Schürer (1910–1997), who was director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern from 1947 to 1980. Due to his initiative, endurance, and great technical competence, the discovering observatory at Zimmerwald – after which the asteroid 1775 Zimmerwald is named – could be built in 1956. He did a lot of orbit computation on asteroids when he was a pupil of astronomer Sigmund Mauderli (1876–1962), who was the preceding director of the Astronomical Institute (also see 1748 Mauderli). Schürer also dealt with stellar dynamics and was deeply involved as a pioneer in satellite geodesy. Naming citation was published on 10 November 1992 (M.P.C. 21129).