960 Birgit

{{Short description|Background asteroid}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox planet

| minorplanet = yes

| name = 960 Birgit

| background = #D6D6D6

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| discovery_ref =

| discoverer = K. Reinmuth

| discovery_site = Heidelberg Obs.

| discovered = 1 October 1921

| mpc_name = (960) Birgit

| alt_names = A921 TG{{·}}1921 KH

| pronounced =

| named_after = Birgit Asplind
{{small|(daughter of Bror Asplind)}}

| mp_category = main-belt{{·}}{{small|(inner)}}
{{nowrap|background (Florian)}}

| orbit_ref =

| epoch = 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)

| uncertainty = 0

| observation_arc = 98.26 yr (35,889 d)

| aphelion = 2.6203 AU

| perihelion = 1.8770 AU

| semimajor = 2.2486 AU

| eccentricity = 0.1653

| period = 3.37 yr (1,232 d)

| mean_anomaly = 123.62°

| mean_motion = {{Deg2DMS|0.2923|sup=ms}} / day

| inclination = 3.0260°

| asc_node = 249.16°

| arg_peri = 88.040°

| mean_diameter = {{val|7.506|0.110|ul=km}}

| rotation = {{val|8.85|0.05|ul=h}}{{efn|name=Lightcurve-plot-Kryszczynska}}

| albedo = {{val|0.217|0.027}}

| spectral_type = S {{small|(assumed)}}

| abs_magnitude = 12.5

}}

960 Birgit (prov. designation: {{mp|A921 TG}} or {{mp|1921 KH}}) is a background asteroid, approximately {{convert|8|km|mi|abbr=off|sigfig=1|sp=us}} in diameter, located in the Florian region of the inner asteroid belt. It was discovered on 1 October 1921, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany. The possibly S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 8.9 hours. It was named after Birgit Asplind, daughter of Swedish astronomer Bror Asplind (1890–1954).

Orbit and classification

Located in the Florian region, Birgit is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements. It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,232 days; semi-major axis of 2.25 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins at Heidelberg on 25 October 1925, three weeks after its official discovery observation.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Birgit Asplind, daughter of Swedish astronomer Bror Ansgar Asplind (1890–1954). Asteroids 958 Asplinda, 959 Arne and 961 Gunnie are named after him and his other two children, respectively. The {{MoMP|960|naming}} was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 ({{small|H 92}}).

Physical characteristics

Based on its determined albedo, Birgit is an assumed S-type asteroid. The albedo determined by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) for this asteroid agrees with that assumption (see below).

= Rotation period =

In February 2007, a rotational lightcurve of Birgit was obtained from photometric observations by Agnieszka Kryszczyńska at Poznań Observatory, Poland, and international collaborators. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of {{val|8.85|0.05}} hours with a brightness variation of {{val|0.28|0.02}} magnitude ({{small|U=2+}}).{{efn|name=Lightcurve-plot-Kryszczynska}} The result supersedes observations by Federico Manzini, Roberto Crippa, and Pierre Antonini from August 2005, who determined a poorly rated period of {{val|17.3558|0.0005}} hours with an amplitude of {{val|0.25|0.01}} magnitude ({{small|U=1+}}).

= Diameter and albedo =

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Birgit measures {{val|7.506|0.110}} kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of {{val|0.217|0.027}}. Another published measurement by the WISE team gives a mean diameter of {{val|8.154|0.566|u=km}} with an albedo of {{val|0.291|0.044}}. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 9.40 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.5.

Notes

{{notelist|refs=

{{efn|name=Lightcurve-plot-Kryszczynska|1=[http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/vizExec/w/Vgraph?-plus=-+&J/A+A/546/A72/L/1/960& Lightcurve plot of (960) Birgit] (1 of 3), Agnieszka Kryszczyńska et al (2012). LCDB quality code of 2+. Summary figures at the [http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=960 LCDB] and [http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/546/A72 CDS-VizieR].}}

}}

References

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite web

|type = 2020-01-04 last obs.

|title = JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 960 Birgit (A921 TG)

|url = https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2000960

|publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory

|access-date = 13 February 2020}}

{{cite book

|title = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names

|url = https://archive.org/details/dictionaryminorp00schm

|url-access = limited

|last = Schmadel | first = Lutz D.

|publisher = Springer Berlin Heidelberg

|chapter = (960) Birgit

|page = [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryminorp00schm/page/n97 84]

|date = 2007

|doi = 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_961

|isbn = 978-3-540-00238-3}}

{{cite web

|title = 960 Birgit (A921 TG)

|work = Minor Planet Center

|url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=960

|access-date = 13 February 2020}}

{{cite web

|title = Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (960) Birgit

|last = Behrend |first = Raoul

|publisher = Geneva Observatory

|url = http://obswww.unige.ch/~behrend/page3cou.html#000960

|access-date = 13 February 2020}}

{{cite journal

|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

|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}}

{{cite web

|title = LCDB Data for (960) Birgit

|publisher = Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)

|url = http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=960

|access-date = 13 February 2020}}

{{Cite journal

|display-authors = 6

|first1 = A. |last1 = Kryszczynska

|first2 = F. |last2 = Colas

|first3 = M. |last3 = Polinska

|first4 = R. |last4 = Hirsch

|first5 = V. |last5 = Ivanova

|first6 = G. |last6 = Apostolovska

|first7 = B. |last7 = Bilkina

|first8 = F. P. |last8 = Velichko

|first9 = T. |last9 = Kwiatkowski

|first10 = P. |last10 = Kankiewicz

|first11 = F. |last11 = Vachier

|first12 = V. |last12 = Umlenski

|first13 = T. |last13 = Michalowski

|first14 = A. |last14 = Marciniak

|first15 = A. |last15 = Maury

|first16 = K. |last16 = Kaminski

|first17 = M. |last17 = Fagas

|first18 = W. |last18 = Dimitrov

|first19 = W. |last19 = Borczyk

|first20 = K. |last20 = Sobkowiak

|first21 = J. |last21 = Lecacheux

|first22 = R. |last22 = Behrend

|first23 = A. |last23 = Klotz

|first24 = L. |last24 = Bernasconi

|first25 = R. |last25 = Crippa

|first26 = F. |last26 = Manzini

|first27 = R. |last27 = Poncy

|first28 = P. |last28 = Antonini

|first29 = D. |last29 = Oszkiewicz

|first30 = T. |last30 = Santana-Ros

|date = October 2012

|title = Do Slivan states exist in the Flora family?. I. Photometric survey of the Flora region

|url = https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2012/10/aa19199-12.pdf

|journal = Astronomy and Astrophysics

|volume = 546

|page = 51

|bibcode = 2012A&A...546A..72K

|doi = 10.1051/0004-6361/201219199

|access-date= 13 February 2020|doi-access= free

}} ([https://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=J/A%2BA/546/A72 VizieR])

{{cite web

|title = Asteroid 960 Birgit

|work = Small Bodies Data Ferret

|url = https://sbntools.psi.edu/ferret/SimpleSearch/results.action?targetName=960+Birgit

|access-date = 13 February 2020}}

{{cite web

|title = Asteroid 960 Birgit – Proper Elements

|publisher = AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site

|url = https://newton.spacedys.com/astdys/index.php?pc=1.1.6&n=960

|access-date= 13 February 2020}}

{{cite journal

|last1 = Zappalà |first1 = V.

|last2 = Bendjoya |first2 = Ph.

|last3 = Cellino |first3 = A.

|last4 = Farinella |first4 = P.

|last5 = Froeschle |first5 = C.

|date = 1997

|title = Asteroid Dynamical Families

|url = https://sbnarchive.psi.edu/pds3/non_mission/EAR_A_5_DDR_FAMILY_V4_1/data/family.tab

|journal = NASA Planetary Data System

|pages = EAR-A-5-DDR-FAMILY-V4.1

|access-date = 4 March 2020}}} ([https://sbn.psi.edu/pds/resource/family.html PDS main page])

}}