Discovery[1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | S. Arend |
Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
Discovery date | 9 October 1948 |
Designations | |
(1570) Brunonia | |
Named after | Brown University[2][3] |
1948 TX · 1952 QE1 | |
main-belt[1][4] · (outer) Koronis[5][6][7] | |
Orbital characteristics[4] | |
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 69.89 yr (25,529 d) |
Aphelion | 3.0028 AU |
Perihelion | 2.6888 AU |
2.8458 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.0552 |
4.80 yr (1,754 d) | |
222.99° | |
0° 12m 19.08s / day | |
Inclination | 1.6659° |
190.05° | |
226.15° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 10.80±1.03 km[8] 12.118±0.272 km[9][10] 12.728±0.058 km[11] |
48 h (or longer)[12] | |
0.166[8] 0.169±0.019[13] 0.1909[11] 0.209[9] | |
S (SDSS-MOC)[14] | |
11.90[9][11] 12.0[1][4][7] 12.40[8] | |
1570 Brunonia, provisional designation 1948 TX, is a stony asteroid of the Koronis family from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 9 October 1948, by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle.[1] The S-type asteroid is likely elongated and has a longer-than-average rotation period of more than 48 hours.[7] It was named for Brown University in Rhode Island, United States.[2]
Brunonia is a core member of the Koronis family (605),[5][6] a very large outer asteroid family with nearly co-planar ecliptical orbits.[7][15] It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 10 months (1,754 days; semi-major axis of 2.85 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[4] The body's observation arc begins at Uccle in November 1948, one month after its official discovery observation.[1]
This minor planet was named for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The 7th oldest university in the United States, Brown was chartered in 1764.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center in February 1954 (M.P.C. 1040).[16][3]
In the SDSS-based taxonomy, Brunonia is a common, stony S-type asteroid,[14] which agrees with the overall spectral type for members of the Koronis family.[15]: 23
In February 2016, a rotational lightcurve of Brunonia was obtained from photometric observations by the Kepler spacecraft and its K2 mission (Uranus Field). Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of at least 48 hours with a brightness amplitude of more than 0.6 magnitude (U=n.a.), indicative of an elongated, non-spherical shape.[7][12]
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Brunonia measures between 10.8 and 12.7 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.166 and 0.209.[8][9][10][11][13] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 and a diameter of 10.8 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.0.[7]