Kan 11

Kan 11
Name	Kan 11
Discovery date	1998-06-12
Discoverer	LINEAR
Mp category	Main-belt asteroid
Epoch	2024-06-13
Aphelion	3.12 AU
Perihelion	2.15 AU
Semimajor	2.635 AU
Eccentricity	0.184
Inclination	6.2°
Period	4.28 yr
Mean diameter	4.6 km
Albedo	0.18
Spectral type	S-type

Kan 11

Kan 11 is a numbered minor planet in the inner main asteroid belt that has been part of multiple photometric, spectroscopic, and astrometric campaigns. Discovered in the late 20th century, it has been observed by surveys and facilities that include LINEAR, Pan-STARRS, and the Catalina Sky Survey, and has been cross-matched in catalogs maintained by the Minor Planet Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and European Space Agency archives. Interest in Kan 11 stems from its orbit within a dynamically active region influenced by resonances with Jupiter and Mars, and from its surface properties that resemble S-type asteroids linked to ordinary chondrite meteorites.

Background and Discovery

Kan 11 was first reported by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research program as part of routine wide-field searches that also yielded discoveries credited to the Spacewatch project, the Catalina Sky Survey, and the Palomar Observatory. Early astrometric follow-up included observations from the Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, with orbital solutions refined using data contributed to the Minor Planet Center and processed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Small-Body Database. Subsequent identifications in photographic plate archives at the Harvard College Observatory and the UK Schmidt Telescope improved the observational arc and linked precovery images to the initial LINEAR detection.

Orbital Characteristics

Kan 11 occupies a semimajor axis placing it in the inner portion of the main asteroid belt, with an orbital period comparable to objects studied in resonance work involving Jupiter and Mars. Its eccentricity and inclination place it near families and clusters mapped in dynamical studies by researchers using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Long-term integrations performed with tools developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the European Space Agency's Dynamics models, and numerical packages employed in studies at the Observatoire de Paris suggest interactions with mean-motion resonances and secular resonances identified in the work of Gallardo and Morbidelli. Kan 11's orbital elements have been included in catalogs used by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, the AstDyS service, and orbital databases maintained by NASA.

Physical Properties

Photometry from Pan-STARRS, the Palomar Transient Factory, and dedicated lightcurve studies at the Lowell Observatory indicate a rotation period typical of small S-type asteroids and amplitude variations consistent with an elongated, irregular shape similar to bodies characterized by radar at Arecibo and Goldstone. Spectroscopic observations using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the Very Large Telescope have yielded a spectrum consistent with S-type taxonomy comparable to work on asteroid samples associated with the Hayabusa mission and the OSIRIS-REx pre-encounter characterization campaigns. Thermal infrared measurements from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and NEOWISE constrain an albedo in the range expected for silicate-rich objects, and size estimates have been cross-referenced with diameters reported in catalogs maintained by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the European Space Agency's NEODyS service.

Observation History and Surveys

Kan 11 has been observed by major surveys including LINEAR, Pan-STARRS, Catalina Sky Survey, Spacewatch, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, with astrometry submitted to the Minor Planet Center and orbital updates propagated through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Small-Body Database. Targeted follow-up campaigns have involved facilities such as Kitt Peak National Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Mauna Kea Observatories, and the Lowell Observatory, while archival searches have recovered earlier apparitions in data from the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey and the UK Schmidt Telescope. Photometric and spectroscopic datasets have been incorporated into transient and small-body databases used by the Planetary Data System, the European Southern Observatory archives, and observatory pipelines associated with the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.

Nomenclature and Designation

The object received its provisional designation upon discovery and later a permanent number after the observational arc met criteria established by the International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Center. Its designation appears in the consolidated catalogs maintained by the Minor Planet Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Small Bodies, and is cross-referenced in databases such as AstDyS and the Planetary Data System. Naming conventions and the assignment process follow procedures documented by the International Astronomical Union, with proposals typically reviewed by committees that have considered names honoring astronomers, institutions, and cultural heritage associated with contributors to asteroid science.

Potential Significance and Research Topics

Kan 11 serves as a representative object for studies linking spectral taxonomy to meteorite classes investigated by the Meteoritical Society and laboratory spectroscopy groups at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London. Its orbit and dynamical context are relevant to resonance mapping and collisional family analyses performed by groups at the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, the University of Padua, and the University of Arizona, and to models of asteroid transport to near-Earth space explored by researchers at the Southwest Research Institute and the Planetary Science Institute. Ongoing and future research could include high-resolution spectroscopy with instruments on the Very Large Telescope, radar imaging campaigns with facilities such as Goldstone, and dynamical simulations using computing resources from NASA Ames Research Center and European research networks focused on small-body evolution.

Category:Minor planets