Discovered by E. Bowell MPC designation 3174 Alcock Observation arc 42.49 yr (15,518 days) Aphelion 3.69 m Discoverer Edward L. G. Bowell Asteroid family Themis family | Discovery date 26 October 1984 Minor planet category main-belt · Themis Discovered 26 October 1984 Orbits Sun Named after George Alcock Discovery site Anderson Mesa Station | |
Alternative names 1984 UV · 1962 YD
1969 BB · 1973 YO1
1975 EO3 · 1978 RB1
1978 TJ3 · 1979 YR8
1980 AH · 1981 GF | ||
3174 Alcock, provisional designation 1984 UV, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's U.S. Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, on 26 October 1984.
The dark C-type asteroid is a member of the Themis family, a dynamical family of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.6–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,038 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic. The first used observation was taken at Crimea–Nauchnij in 1973, when the body was identified as 1973 YO1, extending its observation arc by 11 years prior to the official discovery observation. However, the first images were already taken at the U.S. Goethe Link Observatory in 1962, while it was identified as 1962 YD.
A rotational light-curve of this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by French astronomer René Roy in February 2008. The light-curve gave a rotation period of 7000705000000000000♠7.05±0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.65 in magnitude (U=3-). According to the spaced-based survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, the asteroid measures 18.66 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.102, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 18.71 kilometers.
The minor planet was named by the discoverer for prolific British amateur astronomer George Alcock (1912–2000), who visually discovered 5 comets and 4 novae. Naming citation was published on 5 November 1987 (M.P.C. 12458).