1070 Tunica
Dark background asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1070 Tunica, provisional designation 1926 RB, is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 35 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 September 1926, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany.[15] The asteroid was named after Petrorhagia, a flowering plant also known as "Tunica".[3]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 1 September 1926 |
| Designations | |
| (1070) Tunica | |
| Pronunciation | /ËtjuËnɪkÉ/[2] |
Named after | Petrorhagia[3] (flowering plant) |
| 1926 RB · A903 SA | |
| main-belt · (outer)[1][4] background[5] · Ursula[6] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 114.03 yr (41,649 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.4882 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.9764 AU |
| 3.2323 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0792 |
| 5.81 yr (2,123 days) | |
| 259.51° | |
| 0° 10m 10.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 16.963° |
| 165.32° | |
| 189.81° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 33.77±8.89 km[7] 33.79 km (calculated)[4] 36.68±0.86 km[8] 39.10±0.64 km[9] 39.131±0.423 km[10] 44.135±1.028 km[11] |
| 15.673±0.0067 h[12] 15.8±1.0 h[13] | |
| 0.0476±0.0014[11] 0.057 (assumed)[4] 0.061±0.003[10] 0.068±0.003[9] 0.07±0.04[7] 0.076±0.011[8] | |
| C (assumed)[4] | |
| 10.60[8][9] · 10.634±0.001 (R)[12] · 10.70[7][11] · 10.76±0.29[14] · 10.8[1] · 11.08[4] | |
Orbit and classification
Tunica is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[5] Conversely, it has also been considered a core member of the Ursula family.[6] It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 3.0â3.5 AU once every 5 years and 10 months (2,123 days; semi-major axis of 3.23 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 17° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The body's observation arc begins with its identification as A903 SA at Heidelberg in September 1903, or 23 years prior to its official discovery observation.[15]
Physical characteristics
Tunica is an assumed C-type asteroid.[4]
Rotation period
In May 2017, a rotational lightcurve of Tunica was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomer René Roy. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 15.8 hours with a brightness variation of 0.24 magnitude (U=2-).[13] Another lightcurve obtained in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in February 2010 gave a period of 15.673 hours and an amplitude of 0.32 magnitude (U=2).[12]
Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Tunica measures between 33.77 and 44.135 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.0476 and 0.076.[7][8][9][10][11]
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 33.79 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.08.[4]
Naming
This minor planet was named after "Tunica" (Petrorhagia), a flowering plant derived from the common gillyflower.[3]
Reinmuth's flowers
Due to his many discoveries, Karl Reinmuth submitted a large list of 66 newly named asteroids in the early 1930s. The list covered his discoveries with numbers between (1009) and (1200). This list also contained a sequence of 28 asteroids, starting with 1054 Forsytia, that were all named after plants, in particular flowering plants (also see list of minor planets named after animals and plants).[16]
