2598 Merlin

Merlin is a member of the Dora family ({{small|512}}), a well-established central asteroid family of more than 1,200 carbonaceous asteroids. The family's namesake is 668 Dora. It is alternatively known as the "Zhongolovich family", named after its presumably largest member 1734 Zhongolovich. The Dora family may also contain a subfamily.{{rp|13,23}}

Merlin orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,694 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic. In Nombember 1948, the asteroid was first identified {{mp|1948 WH}} at Uccle Observatory, where the body's observation arc begins 32 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.

In the SMASS classification, Merlin a Ch-type asteroid, a hydrated subtype of the broader carbonaceous C-complex.

According to the surveys carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Merlin measures 15.694 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.049.

As of 2017, no rotational lightcurve of Merlin has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period and shape remain unknown.

This minor planet was named after the sage and sorcerer Merlin, featured mentor of King Arthur in Arthurian legend and medieval Welsh poetry. His magic enabled Arthur to pull Excalibur from the rock and become the rightwise king born of all England. The name was suggested by F. Pilcher. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 August 1982 ({{small|M.P.C. 7157}}).

There is a book titled Merlin's Tour of the Universe, in which a fictitious character, called Merlin, answers all curious questions a layman would have about astronomy and the Solar System. In the book, Merlin's favorite asteroid is Merlin 2598.

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite web

|type = 2017-05-05 last obs.

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|url = https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2002598

|publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory

|access-date = 7 July 2017}}

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|last = Schmadel | first = Lutz D.

|title = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names |publisher = Springer Berlin Heidelberg

|page = 212

|date = 2007

|isbn = 978-3-540-00238-3

|doi = 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2599 |chapter = (2598) Merlin }}

{{cite web

|title = 2598 Merlin (1980 RY)

|work = Minor Planet Center

|url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=2598

|access-date = 7 July 2017}}

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|title = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive

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|access-date = 7 July 2017}}

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{{cite book

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|arxiv = 1502.01628

|isbn = 978-0-8165-3213-1}}

{{cite web

|title = LCDB Data for (2598) Merlin

|publisher = Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)

|url = http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=2598%7CMerlin

|access-date = 7 July 2017}}

}}

• [http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/lcdbsummaryquery.php Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)], query form ([http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html info] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216050541/http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html |date=16 December 2017 }})
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=aeAg1X7afOoC&pg Dictionary of Minor Planet Names], Google books
• [http://obswww.unige.ch/~behrend/page_cou.html Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR] – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• [https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/NumberedMPs000001.html Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000)] – Minor Planet Center
• {{AstDys|2598}}
• {{JPL small body}}

{{Minor planets navigator |2597 Arthur |number=2598 |2599 Veselí}}

{{Small Solar System bodies}}

{{Authority control}}

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002598

Category:Discoveries by Edward L. G. Bowell

Category:Named minor planets

002598

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