Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Joel Hastings Metcalf |
Discovery site | Winchester, Massachusetts |
Discovery date | 7 December 1912 |
Designations | |
(737) Arequipa | |
1912 QB | |
Orbital characteristics[1] | |
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 100.96 yr (36874 d) |
Aphelion | 3.2248 AU (482.42 Gm) |
Perihelion | 1.9562 AU (292.64 Gm) |
2.5905 AU (387.53 Gm) | |
Eccentricity | 0.24485 |
4.17 yr (1,522.9 d) | |
24.8306° | |
0° 14m 11.004s / day | |
Inclination | 12.368° |
184.672° | |
134.348° | |
Physical characteristics | |
22.035±0.7 km | |
7.0259 h (0.29275 d) | |
0.2723±0.018 | |
S | |
8.81 | |
737 Arequipa is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered by American astronomer Joel Hastings Metcalf on 7 December 1912 from Winchester, Massachusetts. This stony S-type asteroid was named after the Peruvian city of Arequipa, where Harvard's Boyden Observatory was located prior to 1927. It is orbiting at a distance of 2.59 AU from the Sun, with an orbital eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.245 and a period of 4.17 yr. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 12.4° to the ecliptic.[1]
The rotation period of this asteroid has proven to be a challenge to determine, most likely because it has a complex shape and a rotation axis with a low inclination. However, during the 2015 apparition, photometric measurements of the asteroid were taken from close to the equatorial perspective. The resulting light curve displayed a rotation period of 7.0259±0.0003 h.[2]