Discovered by T. B. Spahr MPC designation 7835 Myroncope Minor planet category main-belt · (middle) Discovered 16 June 1993 Orbits Sun Named after Myron Cope Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 16 June 1993 Alternative names 1993 MC · 1990 WV12 Observation arc 25.26 yr (9,228 days) Aphelion 3.15 m Discoverer Timothy B. Spahr Discovery site Catalina Station | |
7835 Myroncope, provisional designation 1993 MC, is a presumed stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 to 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Timothy Spahr at the U.S. Catalina Station, Arizona, on 16 June 1993.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,489 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic. The first identification of this asteroid was made at the Japanese Geisei Observatory in 1990. However the observation was excluded from the asteroid's orbit determination and did not extend its observation arc prior to its discovery.
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 10.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.08, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes as standard albedo for stony S-type asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a correspondingly smaller diameter of 6.2 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 13.4.
In 2016, the asteroid's spin-rate has been modeled using data from Lowell photometric database, which gave a rotation period of 7000743019000000000♠7.43019±0.00001 hours.
The minor planet was named in memory of famed sports announcer and journalist Myron Cope (1929–2008). He was a color commentator for the Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League team for 35 years and was the creator of the Terrible Towel in 1975. Naming citation was published on 20 May 2008 (M.P.C. 62928).