152 Atala Explained

Minorplanet:yes
152 Atala
Background:
  1. D6D6D6
Discovery Ref:[1]
Discoverer:P. P. Henry
Discovered:2 November 1875
Mpc Name:(152) Atala
Mp Category:Main belt
Named After:Atala
Alt Names:A875 VB
Pronounced:
pronounced as /fr/
Orbit Ref:[2]
Epoch:31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Aphelion:3.3855abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Perihelion:2.8984AU
Semimajor:3.142AU
Eccentricity:0.077507
Period:5.57 yr (2034.2 d)
Inclination:12.114°
Asc Node:39.945°
Mean Anomaly:52.593°
Arg Peri:59.807°
Dimensions:65 ± 8 km[3]
71–122 km[4]
Sidereal Day:5.28-6.25 hours
Albedo:0.054
Spectral Type:D[5]
Abs Magnitude:8.33
Mean Motion: / day
Observation Arc:130.69 yr (47735 d)
Uncertainty:0
Rotation:6.246abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Moid:1.93567AU
Jupiter Moid:1.85235AU
Tisserand:3.171

152 Atala is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by brothers Paul Henry and Prosper Henry on 2 November 1875, but the discovery was credited to Paul. It is a type D asteroid, meaning that it is composed of carbon, organic rich silicates and possibly water ice.

The asteroid is named for the eponymous heroine of the 1801 novella Atala by François-René de Chateaubriand.[6] The Henry brothers also named the last of their discoveries, 186 Celuta, after another Chateaubriand heroine.[7] Both Atala and Céluta are American Indian fictional characters.[8]

An occultation of a star by Atala was observed from Japan on 11 March 1994. Subsequent occultations have been observed as recently as 2006.

Photometric of this asteroid made in 1981 gave a light curve with a period of 5.282 ± 0.004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.50 in magnitude.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/NumberedMPs.html Hardard's Numbered MPs
  2. Web site: The Asteroid Orbital Elements Database . astorb . .
  3. 6 . Ďurech . Josef . Kaasalainen, Mikko . Herald, David . Dunham, David . Timerson, Brad . Hanuš, Josef . Frappa, Eric . Talbot, John . Hayamizu, Tsutomu . Warner, Brian D. . Pilcher, Frederick . Galád, Adrián . Combining asteroid models derived by lightcurve inversion with asteroidal occultation silhouettes . Icarus . 214 . 2 . 652–670 . 2011 . 10.1016/j.icarus.2011.03.016 . 1104.4227 . 2011Icar..214..652D . 26 January 2012 . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214312/http://astro.troja.mff.cuni.cz/projects/asteroids3D/download/durech_et_al_2011_occ_paper.pdf . dead .
  4. http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2006_05/0507_152_5137_Summary.txt Asterodoccultation.com
  5. http://spiff.rit.edu/richmond/parallax/phot/LCSUMPUB.TXT SPIFF LCSUMPUB
  6. Book: Schmadel, Lutz D.. Lutz D. Schmadel

    . Lutz D. Schmadel. International Astronomical Union . Dictionary of minor planet names . 2003 . . Berlin; New York . 978-3-540-00238-3 . 29.

  7. Book: Schmadel, Lutz D.. Lutz D. Schmadel

    . Lutz D. Schmadel. International Astronomical Union . Dictionary of minor planet names . 2012 . 6th . Springer-Verlag . Berlin; New York . 9783642297182 . 29. 4 April 2014.

  8. Book: Chateaubriand, François-René . François-René de Chateaubriand

    . François-René de Chateaubriand . Atala . 1801.

    Book: Chateaubriand, François-René . François-René de Chateaubriand

    . François-René de Chateaubriand . René . 1802.