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2730 Barks, provisional designation 1981 QH, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 August 1981, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Anderson Mesa Station, Arizona, United States. The asteroid was named after comic-book illustrator Carl Barks.

Orbit and classification

Barks orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 6 months (1,640 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.

It was first identified as 1935 FQ at Johannesburg Observatory in 1935. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in 1954, or 27 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS taxonomy, Barks is characterized as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid.

Rotation period

In August 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Barks was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory (E09) in Australia. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 6.084 hours with a brightness variation of 0.26 magnitude (U=3). This concurs with observations taken at the Palomar Transient Factory in January 2011, which gave a period of 6.087 hours and an amplitude of 0.28 magnitude (U=2).

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Barks measures between 9.87 and 15.830 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.162 and 0.415.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 24.30 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.8.

Naming

This minor planet was named for American cartoonist Carl Barks (1901–2000), best known for the fictional character Scrooge McDuck he created while working at Walt Disney in the late 1940s. In many of his stories, he described space exploration and adventure. Barks was one of the first to use the term "rubble pile asteroid".

Peter Thomas, an assistant of Cornell University, proposed the idea of naming an asteroid after Barks. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 January 1983 (M.P.C. 7621). A week later, Thomas informed Barks by mail about his initiative.

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2730 Barks (1981 QH)" (2017-05-03 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2730) Barks". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2730) Barks. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 224. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2731. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
4. ^ Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
5. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
6. ^ Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
7. ^ "LCDB Data for (2730) Barks". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 18 June 2017.
8. ^ Simpson, Gary; Chong, Elena; Gerhardt, Michael; Gorsky, Sean; Klaasse, Matthew; Kodalen, Brian; et al. (July 2013). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory: 2012 August - October". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 40 (3): 146–151. Bibcode:2013MPBu...40..146S. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
9. ^ Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
10. Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
11. ^ "2730 Barks (1981 QH)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
12. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
13. Peter Thomas, Carl Barks and Edward Bowell's correspondence about the naming of asteroid (2730) Barks at Inducks

External links

• Helnwein Talks with Carl Barks, 11 July 1992
• 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
• 2730 Barks at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2730 Barks at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Background asteroids
• Discoveries by Edward L. G. Bowell
• Named minor planets
• C-type asteroids (SMASS)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1981