873 Mechthild
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_Mechthild.png) Modelled shape of Mechthild from its lightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 21 May 1917 |
| Designations | |
| (873) Mechthild | |
Named after | unknown[2] |
| A917 KJ · 1917 CA | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 102.24 yr (37,343 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.0199 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2346 AU |
| 2.6273 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1495 |
| 4.26 yr (1,555 d) | |
| 48.264° | |
| 0° 13m 53.04s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.2763° |
| 150.00° | |
| 109.99° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 11.006±0.001 h[9] | |
Pole ecliptic latitude | |
| 11.4[1][3] | |
873 Mechthild (prov. designation: A917 KJ or 1917 CA) is a dark background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg Observatory on 21 May 1917.[1] The primitive P-type asteroid has a rotation period of 11.0 hours and measures approximately 34 kilometers (21 miles) in diameter. The origin of the asteroid's name remains unknown.[2]
Mechthild 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 central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,555 days; semi-major axis of 2.63 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The body's observation arc begins with its first and official discovery observation at Heidelberg Observatory on 21 May 1917.[1]
Naming
This minor planet is named "Mechthild", a German feminine given name. Any reference of this name to a specific person or occurrence is unknown.[2]
Unknown meaning
Among the many thousands of named minor planets, Mechthild is one of 120 asteroids, for which no official naming citation has been published. All of these low-numbered asteroids have numbers between 164 Eva and 1514 Ricouxa and were discovered between 1876 and the 1930s, predominantly by astronomers Auguste Charlois, Johann Palisa, Max Wolf and Karl Reinmuth.[10]
