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893 Leopoldina (prov. designation: A918 KD or 1918 DS) is a large and elongated background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory on 31 May 1918. The dark carbonaceous C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 14.1 hours and measures approximately 76 kilometers (47 miles) in diameter. It was named for Germany's national academy, the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle.

Orbit and classification

Leopoldina is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements. It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.6–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 4 months (1,950 days; semi-major axis of 3.05 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 17° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg Observatory on 31 May 1918.

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen classification, Leopoldina's asteroid spectral type is closest to that of an X-type, and somewhat similar to that of a dark F-type asteroid (XF), while in both the Tholen- and SMASS-like taxonomy of the Small Solar System Objects Spectroscopic Survey (S3OS2), it is a common carbonaceous C-type asteroid.

Naming

This minor planet was named for Germany's national academy, the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (German: Carolinisch-Leopoldinische Akademie der Naturforscher) in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. The naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 86).

Rotation period

In April 2008, a rotational lightcurve of Leopoldina was obtained from photometric observations by Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Observatory (716) in Colorado. Analysis gave a classically shaped bimodal lightcurve with a well-defined rotation period of 14.115±0.003 hours and a brightness variation of 0.18±0.02 magnitude (U=3). The result supersedes Warner's previous observation from August 2005, which determined a period of 10.51±0.01 hours and an amplitude of 0.35±0.02 magnitude (U=2).

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Leopoldina measures (75.55±0.97), (76.14±4.5) and (85.992±0.577) kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of (0.051±0.001), (0.0497±0.006) and (0.039±0.007), respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by IRAS, that is, an albedo of 0.0497 and a diameter of 76.14 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.47.

Alternative mean-diameter measurements published by the WISE team include (57.900±15.097 km), (68.91±23.37 km), (76±8 km), (76.1±15.2 km) and (76.623±2.309 km) with albedos in the range of 0.049 to 0.06.

Three asteroid occultation were obtained on 29 January 1996, 30 August 2010 and 16 May 2015. They gave a best-fit ellipse dimension of 79.0 × 72.0 kilometers, 82.8 × 59.8 kilometers (best), and 75.0 × 75.0 kilometers, respectively. These timed observations are taken when the asteroid passes in front of a distant star.

Notes

1. ^ Lightcurve plot of (893) Leopoldina, Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2008). Rotation period 14.115±0.003 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.18±0.02 mag. Quality code is 3. Summary figures at the LCDB.

References

1. ^ "893 Leopoldina (A918 KD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(893) Leopoldina". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 80. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_894. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 893 Leopoldina (A918 KD)" (2020-01-30 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
4. ^ "Asteroid 893 Leopoldina – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
5. ^ "Asteroid 893 Leopoldina". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
6. ^ 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)
7. ^ Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System. 12: IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
8. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8.
9. ^ Warner, Brian D. (April 2011). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: Unpublished Results from 1999 to 2008" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (2): 89–92. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38...89W. ISSN 1052-8091. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
10. ^ Lazzaro, D.; Angeli, C. A.; Carvano, J. M.; Mothé-Diniz, T.; Duffard, R.; Florczak, M. (November 2004). "S3OS2: the visible spectroscopic survey of 820 asteroids" (PDF). Icarus. 172 (1): 179–220. Bibcode:2004Icar..172..179L. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.06.006. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
11. Warner, Brian D. (March 2005). "Lightcurve analysis for asteroids 242, 893, 921, 1373, 1853, 2120, 2448 3022, 6490, 6517, 7187, 7757, and 18108" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 32 (1): 4–7. Bibcode:2005MPBu...32....4W. ISSN 1052-8091.
12. ^ "LCDB Data for (893) Leopoldina". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 25 February 2020.

External links

• Lightcurve Database Query (LCDB), at www.minorplanet.info
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 893 Leopoldina at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 893 Leopoldina at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Background asteroids
• Discoveries by Max Wolf
• Named minor planets
• XF-type asteroids (Tholen)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1918