Discovery date 23 April 1985 Observation arc 19674 days (53.86 yr) Orbits Sun Asteroid group Mars-crosser asteroid | Alternative names 1985 HC Discovered 23 April 1985 Discovery site Palomar Observatory MPC designation 3581 | |
Discovered by Shoemaker, C. and Shoemaker, E. Aphelion 3.9051003 AU (584.19469 Gm) Perihelion 1.6456876 AU (246.19136 Gm) Discoverers Carolyn S. Shoemaker, Eugene Merle Shoemaker Similar 132 Aethra, 3671 Dionysus, 3554 Amun, 2101 Adonis, 1862 Apollo | ||
3581 Alvarez (1985 HC) is a Mars-crossing asteroid discovered on April 23, 1985 by Shoemaker, C. and Shoemaker, E. at Palomar. Based upon lightcurve data, it has a synodic rotation period of 7001334200000000000♠33.42±0.02 hours with an amplitude variation of 6998600000000000000♠0.06±0.02 in magnitude. With a diameter of ~14 km, it is one of the largest Mars-crossing asteroids. However, due to the high inclination of its orbit, it never actually passes through the orbit of Mars since at perihelion it is well away from the plane of Mars' orbit. The asteroid is named after planetary scientist Walter Alvarez and his Nobel-prize winning father, physicist Luis Alvarez.
References
3581 Alvarez Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA