Discovered by K. Endate
K. Watanabe MPC designation 6980 Kyusakamoto Observation arc 36.57 yr (13,359 days) Orbits Sun Asteroid family Koronis family Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 16 September 1993 Minor planet category main-belt · Koronis Discovered 16 September 1993 Named after Kyu Sakamoto Discovery site Kitami Observatory | |
Alternative names 1993 SV1 · 1979 WH7
1988 RU13 Discoverers Kin Endate, Kazuro Watanabe | ||
6980 Kyusakamoto, provisional designation 1993 SV1, is a stony Koronis asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Japanese astronomers Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe at Kitami Observatory on 16 September 1993.
The S-type asteroid is a member of the Koronis family, which is named after 158 Koronis and consists of about 300 known bodies with nearly ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 9 months (1,743 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was taken at Crimea-Nauchnij in 1979, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 14 years prior to its discovery.
A rotational light-curve was obtained through photometric observations at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory, California, in August 2012. The light-curve showed a period of 7000325290000000000♠3.2529±0.0042 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.40 in magnitude (U=2). In the Mould-R filter (R), a different photometric band, the observations rendered a nearly identical period of 7000325260000000000♠3.2526±0.0042 hours with an amplitude of 0.41 (U=2).
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 8.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.30, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 and calculates a slightly larger diameter of 9.0 kilometers.
The minor planet was named in memory of Japanese popular singer Kyu Sakamoto (1941–1985), who died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123, the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history. Adored as "Kyu-chan", he is best known for his hit, I Look Up As I Walk ("Sukiyaki"), which became a worldwide bestseller. The naming also refers to his collaborators Rokusuke Ei and Hachidai Nakamura, songwriter and pianist, respectively. Naming citation was published on 5 October 1998 (M.P.C. 32789).