Discovered by B. A. Skiff MPC designation 4150 Starr Observation arc 59.02 yr (21,558 days) Orbits Sun Named after Ringo Starr Discovery site Anderson Mesa Station | Discovery date 31 August 1984 Minor planet category main-belt · Flora Discovered 31 August 1984 Discoverer Brian A. Skiff Asteroid family Flora family | |
Alternative names 1984 QC1 · 1957 KG
1964 RH · 1973 FD2
1974 QM1 · 1980 EA2
1981 TO2 · 1981 WE6
1981 WJ3 · 1988 YC
2004 SL12 Similar Sun, Asteroid belt, Solar System, 8 Flora, (434326) 2004 JG6 | ||
4150 Starr, provisional designation 1984 QC1, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Brian A. Skiff at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station on 31 August 1984.
The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,219 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The first observation was made at the U.S. Goethe Link Observatory in 1957, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 27 years prior to its discovery.
According to the space-based survey by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 6.6 and 6.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.258 and 0.277, respectively, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 7.5 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 12.8.
Several rotational light-curves were obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations. An unpublished light-curve by Kryszczynska from November 2011, has been rated best by CALL. It gave a rotation period of 7000451790000000000♠4.5179±0.0005 hours and a brightness variation of 0.20 in magnitude (U=3).
The minor planet was named in after Richard Starkey (b. 1940), better known as Ringo Starr, the drummer of The Beatles. He joined the English rock band in 1962, replacing its former drummer Pete Best. Ringo has released various albums in his solo career and also acted in several movies. Naming citation was published on 10 April 1990 (M.P.C. 16248). The minor planets 8749 Beatles, 4147 Lennon, 4148 McCartney and 4149 Harrison were named after the band and its three other members.