12696 Camus, provisional designation 1989 SF1, is a carbonaceous background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter.

12696 Camus
Discovery[1]
Discovered byE. W. Elst
Discovery siteLa Silla Obs.
Discovery date26 September 1989
Designations
(12696) Camus
Named after
Albert Camus
(French writer)[2]
1989 SF1 · 1993 QL2
main-belt · (middle)[3]
background
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc27.59 yr (10,079 days)
Aphelion2.9984 AU
Perihelion2.2463 AU
2.6224 AU
Eccentricity0.1434
4.25 yr (1,551 days)
277.29°
0° 13m 55.56s / day
Inclination7.9950°
160.38°
128.01°
Physical characteristics
7.71±3.44 km[4]
9.329±0.056 km[5][6]
11.11 km (calculated)[3]
3.78±0.04 h[7]
0.057 (assumed)[3]
0.069±0.009[5][6]
0.130±0.086[4]
C[3][8]
13.4[4][5] · 13.5[1][3]

It was discovered on 26 September 1989, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile, and named after French Nobel Prize laureate in literature Albert Camus.[2][9]

Classification and orbit

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Camus is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,551 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.14 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The asteroid's observation arc begins with its discovery, as no precoveries were taken and no identifications were made before 1989.[9]

Naming

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This minor planet was named after French philosopher, author, and journalist, Albert Camus (1913–1960), who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957.[2]

Camus is best known for his novels L'Etranger (The Stranger) and La Peste (The Plague). His main interests were justice, ethics, and politics. As a liberal humanist, he was against the doctrines of Christianity as well as Marxism.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 March 2000 (M.P.C. 39658).[10]

Physical characteristics

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Camus has been characterized as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey.[8]

Lightcurves

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In October 2006, a rotational lightcurve of Camus was obtained from photometric observations by Julian Oey at the Leura Observatory (E17) in Australia. The lightcurve rendered a rotation period of 3.78±0.04 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.40 in magnitude (U=3-).[7]

Diameter and albedo

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According to NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Camus has an albedo of 0.07 and 0.13 with a corresponding diameter of 9.3 and 7.7 kilometers, respectively.[4][5][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a larger diameter of 11.1 kilometer with an absolute magnitude of 13.5.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 12696 Camus (1989 SF1)" (2017-05-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(12696) Camus". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (12696) Camus. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 787. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_8669. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (12696) Camus". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d 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 4 June 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d 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. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  6. ^ a b c 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 3 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b Oey, Julian; Vilagi, J.; Gajdos, S.; Kornos, L.; Galad, A. (September 2007). "Light curve Analysis of 8 Asteroids from Leura and Other Collaborating Observatories". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 34 (3): 81–83. Bibcode:2007MPBu...34...81O. ISSN 1052-8091.
  8. ^ a b 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 5 June 2016.
  9. ^ a b "12696 Camus (1989 SF1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  10. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
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