Discovered by S. Otomo MPC designation 8187 Akiramisawa Discovered 15 December 1992 Orbits Sun Discovery site Kiyosato Observatory | Discovery date 15 December 1992 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 12.8 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Akira Misawa(Japanese botanist) Alternative names 1992 XL · 1971 UF41971 VV People also search for Sun, 9972 Minoruoda, 7203 Sigeki | ||
8187 Akiramisawa, provisional designation 1992 XL, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Japanese astronomer Satoru Otomo at Kiyosato Observatory () on 15 December 1992.
The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.6–3.4 AU once every 5 years and 2 months (1,885 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was taken at Cerro El Roble Station in 1971, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 21 years 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 June 2010. The light-curve gave a rotation period of 7000581530000000000♠5.8153±0.0015 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.90 in magnitude (U=2). The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057, and calculates a diameter of 11.9 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 13.36.
The minor planet was named in honour of Japanese botanist Akira Misawa (1942–1994), a professor at Chiba University , who examined the effects of light pollution on plants. Naming citation was published on 9 January 2001 (M.P.C. 41935).