21509 Lucascavin
21509 Lucascavin is a small asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It is the namesake of the tiny Lucascavin family located within the Flora clan. It was discovered on 22 May 1998, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth [Asteroid Research] at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico. The presumed S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.8 hours. It was named for the 2005-ISEF awardee Lucas James Cavin.
Orbit and classification
According to a HCM-analysis by David Nesvorný, Lucascavin is the namesake of the Lucascavin family, a tight, young cluster between 200 and 800 thousand years old, which consists of 3 known asteroids only – the others are and. The cluster in turn belongs to the encompassing Baptistina family within the larger Florian region. Since other astronomers have ruled out the existence of a Flora family in the first place, Lucascavin has also been grouped to the alternative Duponta family, a core group inside the Florian region.Lucascavin orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as at Kiso Observatory in November 1982, more than 15 years prior to its official discovery observation.