Discovered by T. B. Spahr MPC designation 24827 Maryphil Minor planet category main-belt · Phocaea Absolute magnitude 13 Discovery site Catalina Station | Discovery date 2 September 1995 Alternative names 1995 RA Discovered 2 September 1995 Discoverer Timothy B. Spahr Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Mary & Phil Spahr
(discoverer's parents) People also search for Callirrhoe, (32896) 1994 NM2 | ||
24827 Maryphil, provisional designation 1995 RA, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 6.7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Timothy Spahr at the U.S. Catalina Station, Arizona, on 2 September 1995.
The stony S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family, a group of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,312 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 23 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic.
In 2006, a photometric light-curve analysis by American amateur astronomer Brian Warner at the U.S Palmer Divide Station, Colorado, rendered a rotation period of 7001116530000000000♠11.653±0.005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.44 in magnitude (U=3-). According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 6.7 and 6.0 kilometers, with an albedo of 0.24 and 0.32, respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) agrees with Akari's observations, assumes an albedo of 0.23, and calculates a corresponding diameter of 6.7 kilometers for the asteroid.
The minor planet was named by the discoverer Timothy Spahr in honor of his parents, Mary Clark (b. 1938) and Phil Spahr (b. 1938), who have been very supportive of the scientific career choice of their son.