3202 Graff

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3202 Graff
Discovery[1]
Discovered byM. F. Wolf
Discovery siteHeidelberg Obs.
Discovery date3 January 1908
Designations
(3202) Graff
Named after
Gareth V. Williams
(astronomer)[2]
A908 AA · 1981 ES13
main-belt[1] · Hilda[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc109.02 yr (39,819 days)
Aphelion4.3883 AU
Perihelion3.4843 AU
3.9363 AU
Eccentricity0.1148
7.81 yr (2,853 days)
295.10°
0° 7m 34.32s / day
Inclination11.107°
205.14°
268.81°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions35.914±0.244[4]
36.78 km (calculated)[3]
17.32±0.02 h[5]
0.055±0.013[4]
0.057 (assumed)[3]
D[6] · C[3]
10.9[1][3] · 11.31±0.28[6]

3202 Graff, provisional designation A908 AA, is a carbonaceous Hilda asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately 36 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 January 1908, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany.[7] The asteroid was named after astronomer Gareth V. Williams.[2]

Graff belongs to the Hilda family of asteroids, which are in a 3:2 orbital resonance with the giant planet Jupiter. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 3.5–4.4 AU once every 7 years and 10 months (2,853 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The asteroid's observation arc begins 3 weeks after its discovery with its first used observation at Heidelberg.[7]

Physical characteristics

The dark C-type asteroid is classified as a rare D-type by Pan-STARRS' large-scale survey,[6]

In July 2015, a rotational lightcurve of Graff was obtained by astronomer Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies. It gave a well-defined rotation period of 17.32±0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.18 in magnitude (U=3-).[5]

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Graff measures 35.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.055.[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 36.8 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 10.9.[3]

Naming

References

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