1644 Rafita

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1644 Rafita
Discovery [1]
Discovered by R. Carrasco
Discovery site Madrid Obs.
Discovery date16 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
Dimensions13.958±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]

    Contents

    Orbit and classification

    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]

    Lightcurves

    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]

    Diameter and albedo

    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]

    Naming

    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]

    Related Research Articles

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1644 Rafita (1935 YA)" (2017-03-24 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 30 June 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1644) Rafita". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 130. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1645. ISBN   978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (1644) Rafita". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    4. 1 2 Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv: 1502.01628 . Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN   9780816532131.
    5. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv: 1406.6645 . Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121 . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    6. 1 2 3 4 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: 1109.6407 . Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
    7. 1 2 3 4 Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026 . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    8. 1 2 3 4 Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
    9. 1 2 3 Harris, A. W.; Young, J. W. (October 1989). "Asteroid lightcurve observations from 1979-1981". Icarus. 81 (2): 314–364. Bibcode:1989Icar...81..314H. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(89)90056-0. ISSN   0019-1035 . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    10. 1 2 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1644) Rafita". Geneva Observatory . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    11. ↑ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv: 1506.00762 . Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007 . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    12. 1 2 "1644 Rafita (1935 YA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    13. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN   978-3-642-01964-7.
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