Discovered by NEAT MPC designation 57868 Pupin Minor planet category main-belt · (inner) Discovered 17 December 2001 Inclination 4.228° Discovery site Palomar Observatory | Discovery date 17 December 2001 Alternative names 2001 YD · 1997 WU46 Observation arc 18.21 yr (6,650 days) Aphelion 2.99 m Named after Mihajlo Pupin Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Discoverer Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking | ||
57868 Pupin, provisional designation 2001 YD, is a stony asteroid and relatively slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) team at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, California, on 17 December 2001.
The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,342 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.25 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the plane of the ecliptic.
In September 2015, the first rotational light-curve of this asteroid was obtained by astronomer Vladimir Benishek at Sopot Astronomical Observatory, Serbia, and by American astronomer Frederick Pilcher at the U.S. Organ Mesa Observatory, New Mexico. It showed a rotation period of 7002108100000000000♠108.10±0.04 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.93 in magnitude (U=3-). An asteroid of this size normally rotates once every few hours around its axis.
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 5.7 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo of 0.045. However, the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a standard albedo of 0.20 for stony asteroids, and calculates a diameter of only 2.6 kilometers, as the higher the albedo (reflectivity), the smaller the body's diameter, at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).
In March 2016, the minor planet was named in honor of Serbian–American physicist and humanitarian, Mihajlo Pupin (1858–1935). He greatly improved long-distance telephone transmission and the sensitivity of X-ray detection, and worked for Serbian emigres. The asteroid's name was suggested by the above-mentioned astronomers Vladimir Benishek and Frederick Pilcher.