| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Jackson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 17 August 1933 |
| Designations | |
| (1282) Utopia | |
| Pronunciation | /juːˈtoʊpiə/ |
Named after | Utopia[2] (fictional island society) |
| 1933 QM1 · 1930 CA 1933 QB1 · 1933 RF 1939 RB · 1955 SO1 | |
| main-belt · (outer)[3] background[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 84.09 yr (30,715 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.5049AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7293 AU |
| 3.1171 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1244 |
| 5.50yr (2,010 days) | |
| 23.825° | |
| 0° 10m 44.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 18.040° |
| 324.31° | |
| 79.265° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 52.91 km(derived)[3] 53.07±3.7 km[5] 54.48±19.56 km[6] 57.702±0.300 km[7] 58.77±0.72 km[8] 64.414±0.843 km[9] 64.71±0.58 km[10] |
| 13.60±0.05h[11] 13.61±0.01 h[12] 13.6228±0.0005 h[13] 13.623±0.002 h[14] | |
| 0.035±0.008[10] 0.04±0.05[6] 0.0426±0.0086[9] 0.0479(derived)[3] 0.052±0.002[8] 0.053±0.007[7] 0.0627±0.010[5] | |
| P[9] · C(assumed)[3] | |
| 10.00[5][8][9] · 10.20[10] · 10.27[6] · 10.3[1][3] | |
1282 Utopia (symbol:.svg)
)/juːˈtoʊpiə/ is a darkasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 55 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 17 August 1933, by South African astronomerCyril Jackson at theUnion Observatory in Johannesburg, and given the provisional designation1933 QM1.[15] The asteroid was named after the fictional island ofUtopia.[2]
Utopia is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population.[4] It orbits the Sun in theouter asteroid belt at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (2,010 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.12 and aninclination of 18° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as1930 CA atSimeiz Observatory in February 1930. The body'sobservation arc begins at the Johannesburg Observatory in September 1933, about three weeks after its official discovery observation.[15]
Utopia has been characterized as a dark an primitiveP-type asteroid by theWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.[9] It is also an assumed carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[3]
In November 2000,photometric observations byBrian Warner at the Palmer Divide Observatory (716) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, were used to build alightcurve forUtopia. The asteroid displayed arotation period of 13.61 hours and a brightness variation of 0.28magnitude, revised from a previous publication that gave 13.60 hours and an amplitude of 0.29 (U=3/3).[11][12][a] In September 2005, French amateur astronomersLaurent Bernasconi, Raymond Poncy andPierre Antonini obtained a lightcurve with a concurring period of 13.623 hours and an amplitude of 0.36 magnitude (U=3).[14]
In 2011, a modeled lightcurve using data from the Uppsala Asteroid Photometric Catalogue (UAPC) and other sources gave a sidereal period 13.6228 hours, as well as a fragmentary spin axis of (n.a., -39.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[13]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope,Utopia measures between 53.07 and 64.71 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.035 and 0.0627.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0479 and a diameter of 52.91 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 10.3.[3]
Thisminor planet was named afterUtopia, the imaginary place that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens, especially in laws, government, and social conditions. The term "utopia" was coined from Greek by English statesman and authorSir Thomas More (1478–1535) for his 16th-century bookUtopia, describing afictional island society in the south Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South America. The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 117).[2]
