1052 Belgica

1052 Belgica
Discovery [1]
Discovered by E. Delporte
Discovery site Uccle – Belgium
Discovery date 15 November 1925
Designations
MPC designation 1052 Belgica
Named after
 Belgium (country)[2]
1925 VD · 1965 UO1
A908 TB
main-belt · Flora [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 107.41 yr (39231 days)
Aphelion 2.5559 AU (382.36 Gm)
Perihelion 1.9158 AU (286.60 Gm)
2.2359 AU (334.49 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.14314
3.34 yr (1221.2 d)
61.771°
0° 17m 41.28s / day
Inclination 4.6955°
99.640°
297.41°
Known satellites 1 [4][5]
Earth MOID 0.927209 AU (138.7085 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 2.84741 AU (425.966 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.620
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 10.406±0.077 km[6]
10.94 km (derived)[3]
2.7097±0.0001 h[4][5]
2.70933±0.0003 h[7]
2.7097 h (0.11290 d)[1]
0.2734±0.0736[6]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
B–V = 0.900
U–B = 0.540
S (Tholen)
S (SMASS)
S [3]
11.97[1]

    1052 Belgica, provisional designation 1925 VD, is a stony binary[4] asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 11 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, on 15 November 1925.[8]

    The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,221 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.14 and is tilted by 5 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. The body's surface has an albedo of 0.27, according to the NEOWISE mission of the U.S. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,[6] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a somewhat more moderate value of 0.20.[3]

    In 2012, photometric light-curve observations from several observatories in Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain and the United States rendered a rotation period of 2.7097±0.0001 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.08 in magnitude, indicating a nearly spherical shape for the asteroid. The observations also revealed, that it is a binary system with an asteroid moon, about 36% the diameter of its primary, orbiting it every 47.26±0.02 hours.[5]

    The minor planet was named in honor of the state of Belgium and the first minor planet to be discovered Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, after which the minor planet 1276 Ucclia was named. The name "Belgica" was suggested during the height of World War I by American astronomer Joel Hastings Metcalf, but the Director of the German Astronomisches Rechen-Institut in Berlin, Fritz Cohn, rejected the proposal based on political considerations, as Belgium was occupied by German troops at the time.[2] In his Dictionary of Minor Planets Names, astronomer Lutz Schmadel describes this piece of history involving minor planet names in detail.[9]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1052 Belgica (1925 VD)" (2015-12-14 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1052) Belgica. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 90. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (1052) Belgica". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 6 January 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 Franco, L.; Pravec, P.; Ferrero, A.; Martinez, L. (January 2013). "(1052) Belgica". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (3372). Bibcode:2013CBET.3372....1F. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
    5. 1 2 3 Franco, Lorenzo; Ferrero, Andrea; Martinez, Luis; Pravec, Petr; Padovan, Stefano (July 2013). "Binary Nature for the Asteroid 1052 Belgica". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 40 (3): 151–153. Bibcode:2013MPBu...40..151F. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
    6. 1 2 3 Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
    7. ↑ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1052) Belgica". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
    8. ↑ "1052 Belgica (1925 VD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
    9. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1052) Belgica. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 90. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 6 January 2016.

    External links


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