688 Melanie
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| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. Palisa |
| Discovery site | Vienna Obs. |
| Discovery date | 25 August 1909 |
| Designations | |
| (688) Melanie | |
Named after | unknown[2] |
| A909 QC · 1927 SR 1940 SJ · A917 KD 1909 HH | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (middle)[4] background[5][6][7] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 106.92 yr (39,054 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.0733 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.3217 AU |
| 2.6975 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1393 |
| 4.43 yr (1,618 d) | |
| 20.621° | |
| 0° 13m 21s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.244° |
| 170.84° | |
| 138.97° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 18.87±0.01 h[11] | |
688 Melanie (prov. designation: A909 QC or 1909 HH) is a dark background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory on 25 August 1909.[1] The carbonaceous C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 18.9 hours and measures approximately 42 kilometers (26 miles) in diameter. Any reference to the origin of the asteroid's name is unknown.[2]
Melanie is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements.[5][6][7] It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.3–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 5 months (1,618 days; semi-major axis of 2.7 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.14 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The body's observation arc begins at Vienna Observatory in July 1913, or four years after its official discovery observation.[1]
Naming
This minor planet was named in 1910, by Otto Prelinger who collaborated with Johann Palisa and Max Wolf on the photographic star charts (AN 186, 15). Any reference of this minor planet's name to a person or occurrence is unknown.[2]
Unknown meaning
Among the many thousands of named minor planets, Melanie is one of 120 asteroids for which no naming citation has been published. All of these asteroids with an unknown meaning have low numbers, beginning with 164 Eva and ending with 1514 Ricouxa, all discovered between 1876 and the 1930s, predominantly by astronomers Auguste Charlois, Johann Palisa, Max Wolf and Karl Reinmuth.[12]
