2937 Gibbs, provisional designation 1980 LA, is a stony Phocaea asteroid and Mars-crosser from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 June 1980, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona. ^[3] The asteroid was named after American scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs. ^[2]

Orbit and classification

Gibbs is a Mars-crossing asteroid, as it crosses the orbit of Mars at 1.666  AU. ^{[1] [3]} It is also an eccentric member of the Phocaea family, ^{[4] [5]} a large asteroid family of stony asteroids in the inner main-belt. ^[10]: 23 Gibbs orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.6–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,290 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.30 and an inclination of 22 ° with respect to the ecliptic. ^[1]

The asteroid's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa. No prior identifications were made and no precoveries taken. ^[3]

Physical characteristics

Gibbs is an assumed stony S-type asteroid, which agrees with the overall spectral type of the Phocaea family. ^[10]: 23

Rotation period

In 2005, two rotational lightcurves of Gibbs were obtained from photometric observations by Italian amateur astronomers Federico Manzini and Roberto Crippa. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.06 and 3.06153 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31 and 0.39 magnitude, respectively ( U=2/3-). ^[8] In December 2016, Robert Stephens obtained a well-defined lightcurve at his Trojan Station ( U81) that gave a period of 3.189 hours and an amplitude of 0.26 magnitude ( U=3). ^{[9] [a]}

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Gibbs measures between 5.04 and 5.99 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.283 and 0.30, ^{[6] [7]} while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23 – derived from 25 Phocaea, the Phocaea family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 6.35 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.2. ^[4]

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of American mathematician and physicist Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839–1903), who contributed to the studies of asteroids through his work on orbits. ^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 17 February 1984 ( M.P.C. 8544). ^[11] The lunar crater Gibbs was also named in his honor. ^[2]

Notes

References

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form ( info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 2937 Gibbs at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2937 Gibbs at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters