Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | R. Carrasco |
Discovery site | Madrid Obs. |
Discovery date | 16 December 1935 |
Designations | |
(1644) Rafita | |
Named after | Rafael Carrasco (discoverer's son) [2] |
1935 YA · 1939 XA 1941 JB · 1949 JC 1951 VF · 1955 TS 1957 GD · 1959 UD A906 RB · A916 BA | |
main-belt · (
middle)
[3] Rafita- interloper [4]: 23 | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 110.53 yr (40,371 days) |
Aphelion | 2.9426 AU |
Perihelion | 2.1539 AU |
2.5483 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1548 |
4.07 yr (1,486 days) | |
13.784 ° | |
0° 14m 32.28s / day | |
Inclination | 7.0193° |
270.90° | |
197.05° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 13.958±0.157 km
[5] 15.405±0.072 km [6] 15.48 km (taken) [3] 15.482 km [7] 17.69±1.08 km [8] |
5.100±0.002
h
[9] 6.800±0.004 h [10] | |
0.106±0.014
[8] 0.1329 [7] 0.1403±0.0148 [6] 0.164±0.028 [5] | |
Tholen =
S
[1]
[3] B–V = 0.867 [1] U–B = 0.404 [1] | |
11.82 [1] [6] [8] · 11.82±0.21 [11] · 11.86±0.02 [3] [7] [9] | |
1644 Rafita, provisional designation 1935 YA, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It is the namesake of the Rafita family, a family of stony asteroids in the intermediate main-belt. However, Rafita is a suspected interloper in its own family. [4]: 23 It was discovered on 16 December 1935, by Spanish astronomer Rafael Carrasco Garrorena at the Royal Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid in Spain, and named in memory of the discoverer's son. [2] [12]
Rafita asteroid orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,486 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 7 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] Rafita was first observed as A906 RB at Heidelberg Observatory in 1906, extending the body's observation arc by 29 years prior to its official discovery observation. [12]
Rafita's first rotational lightcurve was obtained by American astronomer Alan Harris of JPL in January 1981. It gave a rotation period of 5.100 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31 magnitude ( U=2). [9] Photometric observations by French amateur astronomer Laurent Bernasconi in December 2004, gave a period of 6.800 hours and an amplitude of 0.13 magnitude ( U=2). [10]
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Rafita measures between 13.96 and 17.69 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.106 and 0.164. [5] [6] [8] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with Petr Pravec's revised WISE-results, that is an albedo of 0.1329 and a diameter of 15.482 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 11.86. [3] [7]
This minor planet was named by the discoverer in honor of his late son, Rafael Carrasco. [2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 January 1964 ( M.P.C. 2277). [13]
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | R. Carrasco |
Discovery site | Madrid Obs. |
Discovery date | 16 December 1935 |
Designations | |
(1644) Rafita | |
Named after | Rafael Carrasco (discoverer's son) [2] |
1935 YA · 1939 XA 1941 JB · 1949 JC 1951 VF · 1955 TS 1957 GD · 1959 UD A906 RB · A916 BA | |
main-belt · (
middle)
[3] Rafita- interloper [4]: 23 | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 110.53 yr (40,371 days) |
Aphelion | 2.9426 AU |
Perihelion | 2.1539 AU |
2.5483 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1548 |
4.07 yr (1,486 days) | |
13.784 ° | |
0° 14m 32.28s / day | |
Inclination | 7.0193° |
270.90° | |
197.05° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 13.958±0.157 km
[5] 15.405±0.072 km [6] 15.48 km (taken) [3] 15.482 km [7] 17.69±1.08 km [8] |
5.100±0.002
h
[9] 6.800±0.004 h [10] | |
0.106±0.014
[8] 0.1329 [7] 0.1403±0.0148 [6] 0.164±0.028 [5] | |
Tholen =
S
[1]
[3] B–V = 0.867 [1] U–B = 0.404 [1] | |
11.82 [1] [6] [8] · 11.82±0.21 [11] · 11.86±0.02 [3] [7] [9] | |
1644 Rafita, provisional designation 1935 YA, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It is the namesake of the Rafita family, a family of stony asteroids in the intermediate main-belt. However, Rafita is a suspected interloper in its own family. [4]: 23 It was discovered on 16 December 1935, by Spanish astronomer Rafael Carrasco Garrorena at the Royal Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid in Spain, and named in memory of the discoverer's son. [2] [12]
Rafita asteroid orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,486 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 7 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] Rafita was first observed as A906 RB at Heidelberg Observatory in 1906, extending the body's observation arc by 29 years prior to its official discovery observation. [12]
Rafita's first rotational lightcurve was obtained by American astronomer Alan Harris of JPL in January 1981. It gave a rotation period of 5.100 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31 magnitude ( U=2). [9] Photometric observations by French amateur astronomer Laurent Bernasconi in December 2004, gave a period of 6.800 hours and an amplitude of 0.13 magnitude ( U=2). [10]
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Rafita measures between 13.96 and 17.69 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.106 and 0.164. [5] [6] [8] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with Petr Pravec's revised WISE-results, that is an albedo of 0.1329 and a diameter of 15.482 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 11.86. [3] [7]
This minor planet was named by the discoverer in honor of his late son, Rafael Carrasco. [2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 January 1964 ( M.P.C. 2277). [13]