Discovery[1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
Discovery date | 31 January 1924 |
Designations | |
(1056) Azalea | |
Pronunciation | /əˈzeɪliə/[2] |
Named after | Azalea (flower)[3] |
1924 QD · 1925 NA 1929 WX | |
main-belt · (inner) Flora[4][5] | |
Orbital characteristics[1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 93.24 yr (34,057 days) |
Aphelion | 2.6277 AU |
Perihelion | 1.8321 AU |
2.2299 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1784 |
3.33 yr (1,216 days) | |
226.32° | |
0° 17m 45.6s / day | |
Inclination | 5.4267° |
104.17° | |
212.39° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 10.66±1.99 km[6] 11.76±0.54 km[7] 11.869±0.136 km[8] 12.40 km (calculated)[4] 12.984±0.069 km[9] 13.07±0.64 km[10] |
15.0276 h[11] 15.03±0.05 h[12] 15.15±0.03 h[13] | |
0.223±0.024[10] 0.24 (assumed)[4] 0.2457±0.0401[9] 0.292±0.040[7] 0.34±0.16[6] | |
SMASS = S[1] · S[4] | |
11.60[7][9] · 11.70[1][4][10] · 11.73±0.28[14] · 11.83[6] | |
1056 Azalea, provisional designation 1924 QD, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 31 January 1924, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany.[15] The asteroid is named after the Azalea flower.[3]
Azalea is a member of the Flora family (402), a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main belt.[4][5][16]: 23 It orbits the Sun in the inner main belt at a distance of 1.8–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,216 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins at Heidelberg in April 1928, more than 4 years after its official discovery observation.[15]
In the SMASS classification, Azalea is a common stony S-type asteroid.[1]
In 2004, two rotational lightcurves of Azalea were obtained from photometric observations by a group of predominately Polish astronomers including Agnieszka Kryszczyńska, as well as by astronomers Alain Klotz and Raoul Behrend. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 15.03 and 15.15 hours with a high brightness variation of 0.70 and 0.79 magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).[12][13] The high brightness amplitude is typically indicative for a non-spheroidal shape.
In 2013, an international study modeled a lightcurve with a concurring period of 15.0276 hours and found two spin axis of (252.0°, 51.0°) and (64.0°, 41.0°) in ecliptic coordinates (λ, β) (U=n.a.).[11]
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Azalea measures between 10.66 and 13.07 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.223 and 0.34.[6][7][8][9][10]
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 12.40 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.7.[4]
This minor planet was named after the genus of flowering shrubs, Azalea, which are rhododendrons with funnel-shaped corollas.[3] The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 100).[3]