Discovered by E. F. Helin MPC designation 9069 Hovland Minor planet category main-belt · Hungaria Aphelion 2.14 m Discoverer Eleanor F. Helin Moon S/2004 (9069) 1 | Discovery date 16 July 1993 Alternative names 1993 OV · 1991 XF5 Discovered 16 July 1993 Orbits Sun Discovery site Palomar Observatory | |
Named after Larry E. Hovland
(JPL engineer) Similar Asteroid belt, 1089 Tama, Solar System, 283 Emma, 130 Elektra | ||
9069 Hovland, provisional designation 1993 OV, is a stony binary Hungaria asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 July 1993, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.
The bright E-type asteroid is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.7–2.1 AU once every 2 years and 8 months (966 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 20° with respect to the ecliptic. The first identification was made at ESO's La Silla site in 1991, extending the asteroid's observation arc by about 2 years prior to its discovery.
Several rotational light-curves for this asteroid were obtained from photometric observations. These light-curves gave a well-defined rotation period of 4.216 to 4.217 hours and a low brightness variation between 0.008 and 0.011 in magnitude, indicating a nearly spheroidal shape (U=2/3/3/3/3).
According to the space-based Spitzer Space Telescope, the asteroid has a high albedo of 0.373 and a diameter of 2.9 kilometers, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for members of the Hungaria family of 0.30, and calculates a diameter of 3.5 kilometers.
In 2004, the U.S Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, reported the discovery of an asteroid moon making the asteroid a binary system. The moon's orbital period has since been measured to take 30.292, 30.34 and 30.35 hours, respectively, for a full orbit around its primary.
The minor planet was named in honor of JPL engineer Larry E. Hovland (b. 1947), who oversees the electronics of the Raman spectrometer and the Mars 2005 optical navigation camera. He helped the discoverer to transition from photographic to electronic detection methods. Naming citation was published on 9 May 2001 (M.P.C. 42669).