Discovered by J. W. Young MPC designation 84882 Table Mountain Minor planet category main-belt Absolute magnitude 14.7 | Discovery date 1 February 2003 Alternative names 2003 CN16 · 1997 UB9 Discovered 1 February 2003 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
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84882 Table Mountain, provisional designation 2003 CN16, is a bright asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 February 2003, by American astronomer James Whitney Young at the U.S. Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, California.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,566 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.29 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first identified as 1997 UB9 at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in 1997, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 6 years prior to its discovery observation. As of 2016, the asteroid's composition, rotation period and shape remain unknown.
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 3.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.306. Based on an assumed albedo in the range of 0.05–0.25 and an absolute magnitude of 14.7, the asteroid's generic diameter measures would be between 3 and 7 kilometers, as the higher the body's reflectivity (albedo), the smaller is its diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).
The minor planet was named for the Table Mountain Observatory, the discoverer's workplace, currently a NASA facility operated by the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which began operation as a Smithsonian Institution site in 1924 to study the solar constant. In the late 1950s, the site was used to test the first solar panels and is now dedicated to optical astronomy and to study Earth's atmosphere. Citation was published on 28 October 2004 (M.P.C. 52955).