| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | R. Schorr |
| Discovery site | Bergedorf Obs. |
| Discovery date | 5 February 1932 |
| Designations | |
| (1240) Centenaria | |
| Pronunciation | /sɛntɪˈnɛəriə/[2] |
Named after | Bergedorf Observatory[3] (100th anniversary) |
| 1932 CD · 1930 VA 1930 XG · A915 RF | |
| main-belt[1][4] · (outer) background[5][6] | |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 87.85yr (32,088 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.3686AU |
| Perihelion | 2.3653 AU |
| 2.8670 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1750 |
| 4.85 yr (1,773 d) | |
| 123.27° | |
| 0° 12m 10.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.169° |
| 323.71° | |
| 24.117° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 50.28±18.22 km[7] 56.87±0.67 km[8] 58.85±1.5 km[9] 63.035±0.266 km[10][11] 70.946±0.624 km[12] | |
| 11.2907±0.0007 h[13] | |
| 0.0463[12] 0.056[10][11] 0.06[7] 0.0673[9] 0.072[8] | |
| C(assumed)[14] | |
| 9.70[8][9][10][12] 10.10[1][4][7] | |
1240 Centenaria, provisional designation1932 CD, is a backgroundasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 5 February 1932, by astronomerRichard Schorr at theBergedorf Observatory in Hamburg, Germany.[1] The assumedC-type asteroid has arotation period of 11.3 hours.[14] It was named for the 100th anniversary of the discovering observatory.[3]
Centenaria is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population.[5][6] It orbits the Sun in theouter asteroid belt at a distance of 2.4–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 10 months (1,773 days;semi-major axis of 2.87 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.18 and aninclination of 10° with respect to theecliptic.[4] The asteroid was first observed asA915 RF at theUnited States Naval Observatory in September 1915. The body'sobservation arc begins atLowell Observatory in December 1930, or 14 months prior to its official discovery observation atBergedorf.[1]
Thisminor planet was namedCentenaria to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discoveringBergedorf Observatory on 31 October 1933. The officialnaming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 114).[3]
Centenaria is an assumed carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[14] The asteroid's determinedgeometric albedo agrees with a characterization into the C-complex(see below).
In July 2007, a rotationallightcurve ofCentenaria was obtained fromphotometric observations byJulian Oey at the Kingsgrove Observatory (E19) in Australia. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of11.2907±0.0007 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20magnitude (U=3).[13] The result supersedes previous period determinations of 11.2 hours with and amplitude of 0.12 byLaurent Bernasconi in March 2005 (U=2-),[15] and a period of 14 hours byMario Di Martino atPino Torinese in September 1983 (U=1).[16]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Centenaria measures between 50 and 71 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.046 and 0.072.[7][8][9][10][11][12] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0469 and a diameter of 58.61 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 10.1.[14] Anasteroid occultation from July 2007 measured as cross-section of58.0 km × 58.0 km.[5]
