268 Adorea

Main-belt asteroid

268 Adorea is a very large main belt asteroid, about 140 km (87 mi) in width. It was discovered by A. Borrelly on 8 June 1887 in Marseilles. This asteroid is a member of the Themis family[3] and is classified as a primitive carbonaceous F-type/C-type asteroid. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.09 AU with an orbital eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.14 and a period of 5.44 yr. The orbital plane is tilted at an angle of 2.44° to the plane of the ecliptic.[1]

From February 23 until March 2, 2006, photometric measurements were taken of the asteroid. These were used to produce a light curve showing a rotation period of 7.80±0.02 h with a brightness variation of 0.16±0.03 in magnitude. This result is consistent with some, but not all previous results. Some studies had suggested a longer rotation period of 15.959 h; double the time measured. However, the new data is inconsistent with the longer period.[4]

In May 1979, 268 Adorea was positioned in proximity of the galaxy NGC 4517 and as a bright new light source it was identified as a potential supernova. However, the light was missing from a second photographic plate taken ten days later, and the source was soon identified as the asteroid.[5]

The name refers to adorea liba, the Latin name for spelt cakes produced from meal and salt offered by the Romans as a sacrifice; the name was controversial among astronomers, as all previous asteroids had been named for humans or mythological figures.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "268 Adorea". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Fienga, A.; Avdellidou, C.; Hanuš, J. (February 2020). "Asteroid masses obtained with INPOP planetary ephemerides". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 492 (1). doi:10.1093/mnras/stz3407.
  3. ^ Florczak, M.; et al. (February 1999). "A spectroscopic study of the THEMIS family". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement. 134 (3): 463–471. Bibcode:1999A&AS..134..463F. doi:10.1051/aas:1999150.
  4. ^ Stephens, Robert D. (December 2006). "Asteroid lightcurve photometry from Santana and GMARS observatories - winter and spring 2006". Bulletin of the Minor Planets Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. 33 (4): 100–101. Bibcode:2006MPBu...33..100S.
  5. ^ West, R. (September 1979). "The Supernova that Was'nt - 268 Adorea". The Messenger (18): 14. Bibcode:1979Msngr..18...14W.
  6. ^ Schmadel, Lutz (5 August 2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783540002383 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "268 Adorea". markandrewholmes.com.
  • The Asteroid Orbital Elements Database
  • Minor Planet Discovery Circumstances
  • Asteroid Lightcurve Data File
  • 268 Adorea at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
    • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
  • 268 Adorea at the JPL Small-Body Database Edit this at Wikidata
    • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • JPL SBDB
  • MPC