783 Nora
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| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. Palisa |
| Discovery site | Vienna Obs. |
| Discovery date | 18 March 1914 |
| Designations | |
| (783) Nora | |
Named after | Character of Nora Helmer in the play A Doll's House (By poet Henrik Ibsen)[2] |
| A914 FB · A911 QG 1914 UL | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 108.44 yr (39,607 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.8811 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8046 AU |
| 2.3429 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2297 |
| 3.59 yr (1,310 d) | |
| 136.94° | |
| 0° 16m 29.28s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.3410° |
| 142.09° | |
| 154.70° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 55.53±0.08 h[10] | |
| SMASS = C[3] | |
783 Nora (prov. designation: A914 FB or 1914 UL) is a dark background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory on 18 March 1914.[1] The carbonaceous C-type asteroid has a longer-than average rotation period of 55.5 hours and measures approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) in diameter. It was likely named after Nora Helmer, principal character in the play A Doll's House by Norwegian poet Henrik Ibsen.[2]
Nora is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements.[4][5][6] It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.8–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,310 days; semi-major axis of 2.34 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as A911 QG at Heidelberg Observatory on 28 August 1911, more than two years prior to its official discovery observation at Vienna Observatory.[1]
Naming
This minor planet was likely named after Nora Helmer, the heroine in the play A Doll's House (1879) by Norwegian poet Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906). The name was given by the discoverer's friends. The naming was also mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 78).[2]
