1218 Aster
{{Short description|Main-belt asteroid}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox planet
| minorplanet = yes
| name = 1218 Aster
| background = #D6D6D6
| image = 001218-asteroid shape model (1218) Aster.png
| image_scale =
| caption = Shape model of Aster from its lightcurve
| discovered = 29 January 1932
| discoverer = K. Reinmuth
| discovery_site = Heidelberg Obs.
| mpc_name = (1218) Aster
| alt_names = 1932 BJ{{·}}{{mp|1978 TJ|5}}
{{mp|1978 VQ|12}}
| pronounced = {{IPAc-en|'|ae|s|t|@r}}{{MW|aster}}
| named_after = {{nowrap|Aster {{small|(genus of flowers)}}}}
| mp_category = main-belt{{·}}{{small|(inner)}}
| epoch = 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
| uncertainty = 0
| observation_arc = 85.35 yr (31,173 days)
| aphelion = 2.5110 AU
| perihelion = 2.0158 AU
| semimajor = 2.2634 AU
| eccentricity = 0.1094
| period = 3.41 yr (1,244 days)
| mean_anomaly = 56.714°
| mean_motion = {{Deg2DMS|0.2894|sup=ms}} / day
| inclination = 3.1572°
| asc_node = 63.820°
| arg_peri = 69.372°
| dimensions = {{val|5.554|0.084}} km
| rotation =
| albedo = {{val|0.332|0.043}}
| spectral_type =
}}
1218 Aster, provisional designation {{mp|1932 BJ}}, is a bright asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Karl Reinmuth in 1932, it was later named after the flowering plant Aster.
Discovery
Aster was discovered on 29 January 1932, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany. Two nights later, it was independently discovered by Italian astronomer Mario A. Ferrero at the Pino Torinese Observatory at Turin, Italy.
Classification and orbit
Aster orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,244 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.
The asteroid's observation arc begins at the discovering observatory, one week after its official discovery observation.
Physical characteristics
= Diameter and albedo =
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Aster measures 5.554 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.332.
= Lightcurves =
As of 2017, rotational lightcurve of Aster has been obtained.{{cite web |last1=Minor Planet Lightcurve Data |first1=Organ Mesa Observatory|title=Asteroid Lightcurve Research 1218 Aster Phased Plot |url=http://aslc-nm.org/1218Aster.jpg |website=Fred Pilcher's Minor Planet Lightcurves |publisher=Astronomical Society of Las Cruces (ASLC) |accessdate=1 June 2018}} The body's rotation period, shape and variation in magnitude shifted from unknown movements to specific identifiable spin/shape determinations.
Naming
The minor planet was named after the genus of flowers, Aster (also see {{section link|List of minor planets named after animals and plants|Plants}}). The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 ({{small|H 113}}).
References
{{reflist|30em|refs=
|type = 2017-06-04 last obs.
|title = JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1218 Aster (1932 BJ)
|url = https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2001218
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200918005431/https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2001218
|url-status = dead
|archive-date = 18 September 2020
|publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory
|accessdate = 23 July 2017}}
|title = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1218) Aster
|last = Schmadel | first = Lutz D.
|publisher = Springer Berlin Heidelberg
|page = 101
|date = 2007
|isbn = 978-3-540-00238-3
|doi = 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1219 |chapter = (1218) Aster }}
|title = 1218 Aster (1932 BJ)
|work = Minor Planet Center
|url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=1218
|accessdate = 23 July 2017}}
|display-authors = 6
|first1 = Joseph R. |last1 = Masiero
|first2 = T. |last2 = Grav
|first3 = A. K. |last3 = Mainzer
|first4 = C. R. |last4 = Nugent
|first5 = J. M. |last5 = Bauer
|first6 = R. |last6 = Stevenson
|first7 = S. |last7 = Sonnett
|date = August 2014
|title = Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos
|url = http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2014ApJ...791..121M
|journal = The Astrophysical Journal
|volume = 791
|issue = 2
|page = 11
|bibcode = 2014ApJ...791..121M
|doi = 10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121
|arxiv = 1406.6645
|access-date= 23 July 2017}}
|title = LCDB Data for (1218) Aster
|publisher = Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)
|url = http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=1218%7CAster
|accessdate = 23 July 2017}}
}}
External links
- [http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/lcdbsummaryquery.php Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)], query form ([http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html info] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216050541/http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html |date=16 December 2017 }})
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=aeAg1X7afOoC&pg Dictionary of Minor Planet Names], Google books
- [http://obswww.unige.ch/~behrend/page_cou.html Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR] – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- [https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/NumberedMPs000001.html Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000)] – Minor Planet Center
- {{AstDys|1218}}
- {{JPL small body}}
{{Minor planets navigator |1217 Maximiliana |number=1218 |1219 Britta}}
{{Small Solar System bodies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aster}}