Discovered by E. F. Helin MPC designation 3757 Anagolay Aphelion 2.65 m | Discovery date 14 December 1982 Alternative names 1982 XB Discovered 14 December 1982 Orbits Sun Discoverer Eleanor F. Helin | |
Similar 1580 Betulia, 1627 Ivar, 3362 Khufu | ||
3757 Anagolay, provisional designation 1982 XB, is an eccentric, stony asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid. It belongs to the group of Amor asteroids and measures about half a kilometer in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, California, on 14 December 1982.
The silicaceous S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.0–2.7 AU once every 2 years and 6 months (908 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.45 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid is a potentially hazardous asteroid because its Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) is less than 0.05 AU and its diameter is greater than 150 meters. Its Earth-MOID is 0.0360 AU (5,390,000 km) which is 14.01 lunar distances. Its orbit is well-determined for the next several hundred years. The asteroid's observation arc begins in 1986, as no precoveries and no identifications prior to its discovery were made.
Based on two rotational light-curves obtained in the 1980s, the asteroid has a rotation period of 9.012 hours and a brightness variation of 0.20 and 0.21 in magnitude, respectively (U=n.a.). A third light-curve, also from the 1980s, gave an alternative period of 7000900460000000000♠9.0046±0.0013 hours with an amplitude of 0.14 (U=2-). The body's albedo lies between 0.18 and 0.34, with the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) deriving an intermediate albedo of 0.26. CALL also assumes a diameter of 390 meters.
The body was named after Anagolay, the goddess of lost things worshipped by pre-Hispanic Tagalogs. In Philippine mythology, Anagolay is the daughter of the hermaphroditic agricultural deity Lakampati, who in some sources is the goddess Ikapati; the latter scenario has Anagolay's father named as Mapulon, god of the seasons. The name, suggested by Filipino student Mohammad Abqary Alon, bested 85 other entries in a contest held by the Space Generation Advisory Council's "Name-An-Asteroid" campaign. Naming citation was published on 9 September 2014 (M.P.C. 89832).