3737 Beckman
3737 Beckman, provisional designation , is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1983, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 3.1 hours. It was named for American Chemist Arnold Beckman.
Orbit and classification
Beckman is a member of the Mars-crossing asteroids, a dynamically unstable group between the main belt and the near-Earth populations, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.66 AU. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.5–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 9 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.40 and an inclination of 20° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in August 1983.Naming
This minor planet was named after Arnold Orville Beckman, an American chemist and inventor of the first pH meter. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 17 August 1989.Physical characteristics
In the SMASS classification, Beckman is a common, stony S-type asteroid, the most common type in the innermost region of the Solar System.Rotation period
A rotational lightcurve of Beckman was obtained from photometric observations by Polish astronomer Wiesław Wiśniewski during 1986–1987. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.16 magnitude.Observations by Daniel Klinglesmith at Etscorn Campus Observatory in November 2013, gave a period of 3.130 hours and an amplitude of 0.27 magnitude. Serbian astronomer Vladimir Benishek at the Belgrade Astronomical Observatory measured a period of 3.125 hours in December 2017, and in March 2018, Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies in California determined a period of 3.113.