827 Wolfiana, provisional designation 1916 ZW, is a Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered at Vienna Observatory on 29 August 1916, by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa, who named it after German astronomer Max Wolf.[2][9] The assumed stony asteroid has a rotation period of 4.0654 hours.

827 Wolfiana
Discovery [1]
Discovered byJ. Palisa
Discovery siteVienna Obs.
Discovery date29 August 1916
Designations
(827) Wolfiana
Named after
Max Wolf[2]
(German astronomer)
1916 ZW · 1928 DK
1940 RA
main-belt · (inner)
Flora[3][4]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc100.68 yr (36,773 d)
Aphelion2.6314 AU
Perihelion1.9172 AU
2.2743 AU
Eccentricity0.1570
3.43 yr (1,253 days)
145.31°
0° 17m 14.64s / day
Inclination3.4231°
172.92°
195.31°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions6.51 km (calculated)[3]
8.488±0.165 km[5]
8.976±0.020 km[6]
4.0±0.3 h[7]
4.0654±0.0001 h[8]
0.1153±0.0299[6]
0.129±0.020[5]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
S (assumed)[3]
13.1[1][3] · 13.2[6]

Orbit and classification edit

Wolfiana is a member of the Flora family (402),[3][4] a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main belt.[10]: 23  It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,253 days; semi-major axis of 2.27 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Vienna.[9]

Physical characteristics edit

Wolfiana is an assumed stony S-type asteroid,[3] which agrees with the overall spectral type for Florian asteroids.[10]: 23 

Rotation period edit

In September 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Wolfiana was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomers Luis Martinez, Arizona, and Frederick Pilcher at Organ Mesa Observatory (G50), New Mexico. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 4.0654 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.20 magnitude (U=3),[8] refining a period of 4.0 hours previously measured in November 2009 (U=2).[7]

Diameter and albedo edit

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Wolfiana measures 8.488 and 8.976 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.129 and 0.1153, respectively.[5][6]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the parent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 6.51 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.1.[3]

Naming edit

This minor planet was named by the discoverer in 1920 (AN 211;441) after German astronomer, colleague and friend, Max Wolf (1863–1932), a professor of astronomy at Heidelberg University and founder and director of the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory, who discovered several novae, comets and 248 minor planets.[2]

The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 82). Asteroid 1217 Maximiliana and the lunar crater Wolf were also named in his honor.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 827 Wolfiana (1916 ZW)" (2017-05-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(827) Wolfiana". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 76. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_828. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "LCDB Data for (827) Wolfiana". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Asteroid 827 Wolfiana – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121.
  6. ^ a b c d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
  7. ^ a b Kryszczynska, A.; Colas, F.; Polinska, M.; Hirsch, R.; Ivanova, V.; Apostolovska, G.; et al. (October 2012). "Do Slivan states exist in the Flora family?. I. Photometric survey of the Flora region". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 546: 51. Bibcode:2012A&A...546A..72K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219199.
  8. ^ a b Pilcher, Frederick; Martinez, Luis (January 2013). "Rotation Period Determination for 827 Wolfiana". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 40 (1): 21. Bibcode:2013MPBu...40Q..21P. ISSN 1052-8091.
  9. ^ a b "827 Wolfiana (1916 ZW)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.

External links edit