1240 Centenaria, provisional designation 1932 CD, is a background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 5 February 1932, by astronomer Richard Schorr at the Bergedorf Observatory in Hamburg, Germany.[1] The assumed C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 11.3 hours.[14] It was named for the 100th anniversary of the discovering observatory.[3]

1240 Centenaria
Discovery[1]
Discovered byR. Schorr
Discovery siteBergedorf Obs.
Discovery date5 February 1932
Designations
(1240) Centenaria
Pronunciation/sɛntɪˈnɛəriə/[2]
Named after
Bergedorf Observatory[3]
(100th anniversary)
1932 CD · 1930 VA
1930 XG · A915 RF
main-belt[1][4] · (outer)
background[5][6]
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc87.85 yr (32,088 d)
Aphelion3.3686 AU
Perihelion2.3653 AU
2.8670 AU
Eccentricity0.1750
4.85 yr (1,773 d)
123.27°
0° 12m 10.8s / day
Inclination10.169°
323.71°
24.117°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
50.28±18.22 km[7]
56.87±0.67 km[8]
58.85±1.5 km[9]
63.035±0.266 km[10][11]
70.946±0.624 km[12]
11.2907±0.0007 h[13]
0.0463[12]
0.056[10][11]
0.06[7]
0.0673[9]
0.072[8]
C (assumed)[14]
9.70[8][9][10][12]
10.10[1][4][7]

Orbit and classification edit

Centenaria is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[5][6] It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.4–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 10 months (1,773 days; semi-major axis of 2.87 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.[4] The asteroid was first observed as A915 RF at the United States Naval Observatory in September 1915. The body's observation arc begins at Lowell Observatory in December 1930, or 14 months prior to its official discovery observation at Bergedorf.[1]

Naming edit

This minor planet was named Centenaria to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovering Bergedorf Observatory on 31 October 1933. The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 114).[3]

Physical characteristics edit

Centenaria is an assumed carbonaceous C-type asteroid.[14] The asteroid's determined geometric albedo agrees with a characterization into the C-complex (see below).

Rotation period edit

In July 2007, a rotational lightcurve of Centenaria was obtained from photometric observations by Julian Oey at the Kingsgrove Observatory (E19) in Australia. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 11.2907±0.0007 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20 magnitude (U=3).[13] The result supersedes previous period determinations of 11.2 hours with and amplitude of 0.12 by Laurent Bernasconi in March 2005 (U=2-),[15] and a period of 14 hours by Mario Di Martino at Pino Torinese in September 1983 (U=1).[16]

Diameter and albedo edit

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Centenaria measures between 50 and 71 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.046 and 0.072.[7][8][9][10][11][12] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0469 and a diameter of 58.61 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 10.1.[14] An asteroid occultation from July 2007 measured as cross-section of 58.0 km × 58.0 km.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "1240 Centenaria (1932 CD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  2. ^ "centenarian". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1240) Centenaria". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1240) Centenaria. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 103. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1241. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  4. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1240 Centenaria (1932 CD)" (2018-10-20 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Asteroid 1240 Centenaria". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Asteroid (1240) Centenaria – Proper elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117. S2CID 9341381.
  8. ^ a b c d Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
  9. ^ a b c d Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System – IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0: IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d Mainzer, A. K.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; Kramer, E. A.; Masiero, J. R.; et al. (June 2016). "NEOWISE Diameters and Albedos V1.0". NASA Planetary Data System: EAR-A-COMPIL-5-NEOWISEDIAM-V1.0. Bibcode:2016PDSS..247.....M. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  11. ^ 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. S2CID 119293330.
  12. ^ 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. S2CID 35447010. (catalog)
  13. ^ a b Oey, Julian (September 2008). "Lightcurve Analysis of Asteroids from the Kingsgrove and Leura Observatories in the 2nd Half of 2007". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 35 (3): 132–135. Bibcode:2008MPBu...35..132O. ISSN 1052-8091.
  14. ^ a b c d "LCDB Data for (1240) Centenaria". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  15. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1240) Centenaria". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  16. ^ di Martino, M. (December 1984). "Physical study of asteroids - Lightcurves and rotational periods of six asteroids". Icarus. 60 (3): 541–546.ResearchsupportedbytheConsiglioNazionaledelleRicerche. Bibcode:1984Icar...60..541D. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(84)90162-3. ISSN 0019-1035.

External links edit