1219 Britta
Main-belt asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1219 Britta, provisional designation 1932 CJ, is a stony background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers (7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 February 1932, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southern Germany.[1] The likely elongated S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.57 hours.[4] Any reference of its name to a person is unknown.[2]
_Britta.png)
Shape model of Britta from its lightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 6 February 1932 |
| Designations | |
| (1219) Britta | |
Named after | unknown[2] |
| 1932 CJ · 1947 XG 1975 FE · A904 SB A915 BD | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (inner) Flora[4] · background[5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 113.51 yr (41,461 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.4883 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9390 AU |
| 2.2136 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1241 |
| 3.29 yr (1,203 d) | |
| 131.11° | |
| 0° 17m 57.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.4135° |
| 42.543° | |
| 23.720° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 9.86±0.34 km[6] 11.43±0.9 km[7] 11.76±0.30 km[8] | |
| 5.573±0.001 h[9] 5.574±0.003 h[10] 5.5750±0.0005 h[11] 5.575±0.001 h[12] 5.575 h[13] 5.575 h[14] 5.57556±0.00001 h[15] 5.57557±0.00002 h[16] | |
| 0.223±0.013[8] 0.2267±0.040[7] 0.2629 (derived)[4] 0.346±0.041[6] | |
| S (S3OS2)[17] BâV = 0.913[3] UâB = 0.514[3] | |
| 11.7[3] 11.80[4][6] 11.94[7][8] | |
Orbit and classification
Britta is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements.[5] Based on osculating Keplerian orbital elements, the asteroid has also been classified as a member of the Flora family (402), a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[4]
It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9â2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,203 days; semi-major axis of 2.21 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[3]
The asteroid was first observed as A904 SB at Heidelberg Observatory in September 1904. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg in February 1932.[1]
Naming
This minor planet is named after a common German female name. Any reference of this name to a person or occurrence is unknown.[2]
Unknown meaning
Among the many thousands of named minor planets, Britta is one of 120 asteroids, for which no official naming citation has been published. All of these low-numbered asteroids have numbers between 164 Eva and 1514 Ricouxa and were discovered between 1876 and the 1930s, predominantly by astronomers Auguste Charlois, Johann Palisa, Max Wolf and Karl Reinmuth.[18]
Physical characteristics
Britta has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid in both the Tholen- and SMASS-like taxonomy of the Small Solar System Objects Spectroscopic Survey (S3OS2).[17]
Rotation period
Several rotational lightcurves[a] of Britta have been obtained from photometric observations since the 1980s.[9][10][11][12][13][14] The consolidated lightcurve analysis results give a rotation period of 5.575 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.48 and 0.75 magnitude, indicative of an elongated shape (U=3).[4]
Spin axis
Modeled photometric data from the Lowell Photometric Database (LPD) and the robotic BlueEye600 Observatory, gave a concurring period of 5.57556 and 5.57557 hours, respectively.[15][16] Both studies determined two spin axes of (72.0°, â66.0°) and (241.0°, â66.0°), as well as (61.0°, â2.0°) and (223.0°, â68.0°) in ecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[15][16]
Diameter and albedo
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, Britta measures between 9.860 and 11.76 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.223 and 0.346.[6][7][8] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.2629 and a diameter of 11.31 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.8.[4]
Notes
- Lightcurve plot of (1219) Britta by R. D. Stephens (2014): rotation period 5.573±0.001 hours. 474 data points. Quality Code of 3. Summary figures at the LCDB and Center for Solar System Studies â CS3 Lightcurves Page
