838 Seraphina
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_Seraphina.png) Shape of Seraphina from modeled lightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1916 |
| Designations | |
| (838) Seraphina | |
Named after | unknown[2] |
| A916 SL · 1916 AH 2019 FC5 | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 103.28 yr (37,724 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.2777 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5189 AU |
| 2.8983 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1309 |
| 4.93 yr (1,802 d) | |
| 15.248° | |
| 0° 11m 59.28s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.423° |
| 240.05° | |
| 117.10° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 15.67±0.02 h[9] | |
Pole ecliptic latitude | (18.0°, 4.0°) (λ1/β1)[10][11] (192.0°, 32.0°) (λ2/β2)[10][11] |
| 10.1[1][3] | |
838 Seraphina (prov. designation: A916 SL or 1916 AH) is a dark and large background asteroid, approximately 58 kilometers (36 miles) in diameter, located in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory on 24 September 1916.[1] The primitive P-type asteroid has a rotation period of 15.7 hours and is rather spherical in shape. Any reference to the origin of the asteroid's name is unknown.[2]
Seraphina 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] It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.5–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,802 days; semi-major axis of 2.9 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg Observatory on 24 September 1916.[1]
Naming
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, Seraphina is one of 120 asteroids for which no official naming citation has been published. All of these asteroids have low numbers in between 164 Eva and 1514 Ricouxa and were discovered from 1876 up to the 1930s, predominantly by astronomers Auguste Charlois, Johann Palisa, Max Wolf and Karl Reinmuth.[13]
