Discovered by H.-E. Schuster MPC designation 3288 Seleucus Minor planet category Amor · NEO Spectral type S-type asteroid Discoverer Hans-Emil Schuster Asteroid group Amor asteroid | Discovery date 28 February 1982 Alternative names 1982 DV Discovered 28 February 1982 Orbits Sun Discovery site La Silla Observatory | |
Named after Seleucus I Nicator
(Seleucid Empire) Similar 4954 Eric, 1980 Tezcatlipoca, 3908 Nyx, 3552 Don Quixote, Sun | ||
3288 Seleucus, provisional designation 1982 DV, is a rare-type stony asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Amor group of asteroids, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 28 February 1982, by German astronomer Hans-Emil Schuster at ESO's La Silla Observatory site in northern Chile.
Seleucus orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.1–3.0 AU once every 2 years and 11 months (1,059 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.46 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. Seleucus has a Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.1016 AU (15,200,000 km), which corresponds to 39.5 lunar distances. As no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made, the body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at La Silla.
On the Tholen and SMASS taxonomic scheme, Seleucus is classified as a featureless S-type and rare K-type asteroid, respectively. It has a relatively long rotation period of 75 hours with a brightness variation of 1.0 magnitude, indicative of a non-spheroidal shape (U=3/3).
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Seleucus measures 2.49 and 2.83 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.139 and 0.24, respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts an albedo of 0.23 and a diameter of 2.2 kilometers, based on modeled data by Alan Harris.
This minor planet is named for Seleucus I Nicator, a general in the army of Alexander the Great, and, after the death of Alexander, founder and king of the Seleucid Empire. The lunar crater Seleucus is also named after him. Naming citation was published on 29 September 1985 (M.P.C. 10046).