| Minorplanet: | yes |
| 152 Atala | |
| Background: |
|
| 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.
. Lutz D. Schmadel. International Astronomical Union . Dictionary of minor planet names . 2003 . . Berlin; New York . 978-3-540-00238-3 . 29.
. Lutz D. Schmadel. International Astronomical Union . Dictionary of minor planet names . 2012 . 6th . Springer-Verlag . Berlin; New York . 9783642297182 . 29. 4 April 2014.
. François-René de Chateaubriand . Atala . 1801.
. François-René de Chateaubriand . René . 1802.
