2033 Basilea
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| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Wild |
| Discovery site | Zimmerwald Obs. |
| Discovery date | 6 February 1973 |
| Designations | |
| (2033) Basilea | |
Named after | Basel (Swiss city)[2] |
| 1973 CA · 1953 DA 1953 EY · 1955 WD 1955 XD | |
| main-belt · (inner)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.33 yr (23,133 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4734 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9765 AU |
| 2.2250 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1117 |
| 3.32 yr (1,212 days) | |
| 191.60° | |
| 0° 17m 49.2s / day | |
| Inclination | 8.4634° |
| 321.72° | |
| 14 November 2025[4] | |
| 134.56° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 5.710±0.088 km[5] 6.25±1.51 km[6] 6.322±0.051 km[7] 7.82 km (calculated)[3] |
| 6.5287±0.0002 h[a] | |
| 0.20 (assumed)[3] 0.29±0.13[6] 0.3688±0.0966[7] 0.419±0.088[5] | |
| S[3] | |
| 14.9[8] to 18.4 | |
| 12.7[7] · 12.9[1][3] · 13.01±0.09[9] · 13.19[6] | |
2033 Basilea, provisional designation 1973 CA, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 February 1973, by astronomer Paul Wild at the Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.[10] The asteroid was named for the Swiss city of Basel.[2] It came to perihelion in November 2025 and opposition on 23 January 2026 at apparent magnitude 15 in the constellation of Cancer.[11]
Basilea orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,212 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as 1953 DA at Goethe Link Observatory in February 1953, extending the body's observation arc by 20 years prior to its official discovery observation at Zimmerwakd.[10]
Physical characteristics
Lightcurves
In December 2015, a rotational lightcurve of Basilea was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers Petr Pravec, Peter Kušnirák and Donald Pray. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 6.5287 hours with a brightness variation of 0.28 magnitude (U=3-).[a]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Basilea measures between 5.710 and 6.322 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.29 and 0.419.[5][6][7]
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 7.82 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.9.[3]
