16113 Ahmed
Encyclopedia
16113 Ahmed is an asteroid
from the asteroid belt
discovered on December 6, 1999 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro
, New Mexico. The asteroid is officially named after a high-school student from Brooklyn, New York who participated in a science contest. 16113 Ahmed orbits the Sun
at a distance that is three times greater than the distance between the Earth
and the Sun, completing an orbit every five years.
The asteroid is presently named in honor of then-high-school-student Tahir Ahmed, a senior who attended Midwood High School
in Brooklyn
, New York. Ahmed was a finalist in the 2002 Intel Science Talent Search
.
of 2.9154615 AU
, which is 2.915 times the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun. At its closest
, 16113 Ahmed reaches a distance of 2.6434087 AU, some 0.2720528 AU closer than the average distance at which it orbits. However, at its furthest, the asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.1875143 AU, over three times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and 0.2720528 AU greater than the average distance. The asteroid has a relatively circular orbit, as its measured orbital eccentricity
is 0.0933138. 16113 Ahmed orbits the Sun every 1818.2742012 days, which equates to approximately 4.98 years.
The angle between the point at which 16113 Ahmed appears to cross between hemispheres in the night sky with respect to Earth and the point at which it is closest to the Sun, or the argument of perihelion
, is 207.93672°. The angle at which the asteroid crosses between hemispheres, or the ascending node, is 150.55958°. On average, 16113 Ahmed travels
0.09798994° every day along its orbit, as seen from Earth. In addition, 16113 Ahmed's orbital inclination of 2.67924° indicates that is has a flat orbit relative to the Sun and its planets.
The asteroid lies between Mars
and Jupiter
, which respectively have orbits at 1.52366231 AU and 5.20446401 AU. Mars has a largely circular orbit, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.093315, which is very similar to that of 16113 Ahmed.
16113 Ahmed has an apparent magnitude
of 14.4. It cannot be seen from Earth with the naked eye
.
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
from the asteroid belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
discovered on December 6, 1999 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro
Socorro, New Mexico
Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . The population was 9,051 at the 2010 census...
, New Mexico. The asteroid is officially named after a high-school student from Brooklyn, New York who participated in a science contest. 16113 Ahmed orbits the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
at a distance that is three times greater than the distance between the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and the Sun, completing an orbit every five years.
Observational history and naming
16113 Ahmed was discovered on December 6, 1999, by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team (LINEAR), which is based in Socorro, New Mexico. 16113 Ahmed was given the provisional designation 1999 XN23. As of August 27, 2011, 432 observations ranging from 1993 to 2009 were used to extrapolate data on 16113 Ahmed. 16113 Ahmed reached perihelion, or its closest point to the Sun, on April 1, 2009.The asteroid is presently named in honor of then-high-school-student Tahir Ahmed, a senior who attended Midwood High School
Midwood High School
Midwood High School, at Brooklyn College, is a public, urban, co-ed high school located on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City.Midwood High School was for many years the recipient of multiple accolades because of its competitive educational programs and for the achievements of its students...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York. Ahmed was a finalist in the 2002 Intel Science Talent Search
Intel Science Talent Search
The Intel Science Talent Search , known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech...
.
Characteristics
16113 Ahmed orbits the Sun at a mean distance (semi-major axis)Semi-major axis
The major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter, a line that runs through the centre and both foci, its ends being at the widest points of the shape...
of 2.9154615 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
, which is 2.915 times the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun. At its closest
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
, 16113 Ahmed reaches a distance of 2.6434087 AU, some 0.2720528 AU closer than the average distance at which it orbits. However, at its furthest, the asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.1875143 AU, over three times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and 0.2720528 AU greater than the average distance. The asteroid has a relatively circular orbit, as its measured orbital eccentricity
Orbital eccentricity
The orbital eccentricity of an astronomical body is the amount by which its orbit deviates from a perfect circle, where 0 is perfectly circular, and 1.0 is a parabola, and no longer a closed orbit...
is 0.0933138. 16113 Ahmed orbits the Sun every 1818.2742012 days, which equates to approximately 4.98 years.
The angle between the point at which 16113 Ahmed appears to cross between hemispheres in the night sky with respect to Earth and the point at which it is closest to the Sun, or the argument of perihelion
Argument of periapsis
The argument of periapsis , symbolized as ω, is one of the orbital elements of an orbiting body...
, is 207.93672°. The angle at which the asteroid crosses between hemispheres, or the ascending node, is 150.55958°. On average, 16113 Ahmed travels
Mean motion
Mean motion, n\,\!, is a measure of how fast a satellite progresses around its elliptical orbit. Unless the orbit is circular, the mean motion is only an average value, and does not represent the instantaneous angular rate....
0.09798994° every day along its orbit, as seen from Earth. In addition, 16113 Ahmed's orbital inclination of 2.67924° indicates that is has a flat orbit relative to the Sun and its planets.
The asteroid lies between Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
and Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, which respectively have orbits at 1.52366231 AU and 5.20446401 AU. Mars has a largely circular orbit, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.093315, which is very similar to that of 16113 Ahmed.
16113 Ahmed has an apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
of 14.4. It cannot be seen from Earth with the naked eye
Naked eye
The naked eye is a figure of speech referring to human visual perception unaided by a magnifying or light-collecting optical device, such as a telescope or microscope. Vision corrected to normal acuity using corrective lenses is considered "naked"...
.