7505 Furusho
7505 Furusho, provisional designation, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 3 January 1997, by Japanese astronomer Takao Kobayashi at the Ōizumi Observatory in the Kantō region of Japan. The assumed S-type asteroid is likely elongated in shape and has a rotation period of 4.1 hours. It was named for Japanese astronomer.
Orbit and classification
Furusho 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 1.6–3.6 AU once every 4 years and 3 months. Its orbit has a high eccentricity of 0.38 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as at the Crimean Simeiz Observatory in November 1940, or more than 56 years prior to its official discovery observation by Takao Kobayashi at Ōizumi in January 1997.Naming
This minor planet was named after Japanese astronomer Reiko Furusho. Her research includes cometary physics, in particular the measurement of polarized light, caused by scattering on comet dust. Furusho also works in the education and popularization of astronomy. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 May 2003.Physical characteristics
Furusho is an assumed S-type asteroid.Rotation period
In November 2017, a rotational lightcurve of Furusho was obtained from photometric observations by Daniel Klinglesmith at Etscorn Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of hours with a high brightness variation of 0.63 magnitude.The result agrees with previous period determinations by Hungarian astronomers at Konkoly Observatory in autumn 2001, and with observations by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California in May 2011. Robert Stephens at Santana Observatory and Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station also determined an identical period in November 2001 and December 2013, respectively. All observations showed a classically shaped bimodal lightcurve with a high brightness amplitude between 0.52 and 0.75 magnitude, which is indicative of an elongated, non-spherical shape.