Discovered by A. Mrkos MPC designation 6470 Aldrin Minor planet category main-belt · Flora Discovered 14 September 1982 Discoverer Antonín Mrkos Discovery site Kleť Observatory | Discovery date 14 September 1982 Alternative names 1982 RO1 · 1989 UU2 Orbital period 1,253 days Orbits Sun Asteroid family Flora family | |
Named after Buzz Aldrin
(astronaut, Apollo 11) Similar Sun, 8 Flora, 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková, 9007 James Bo | ||
6470 Aldrin, provisional designation 1982 RO1, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos at Kleť Observatory on 14 September 1982.
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 5 months (1,253 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins in 1982, as no precoveries had been taken prior to its discovery.
A rotational light-curve of this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in September 2013. The light-curve gave a rotation period of 7000599440000000000♠5.9944±0.0014 hours with a brightness variation of 0.82 in magnitude (U=2). The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – which derives from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 3.0 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 14.78.
The minor planet was named for American astronaut Buzz Aldrin (b. 1930), on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. He was one of the first two humans to land on the Moon, and the second person to walk on it, following Neil Armstrong, after whom the asteroid 6469 Armstrong is named. Its name was suggested by Czech astronomers Jana Tichá, Miloš Tichý and Zdeněk Moravec, who observed the asteroid during its 1995-opposition, shortly before being numbered. Naming citation was published on 4 May 1999 (M.P.C. 34623).