_Marconia.png) Modelled shape ofMarconia from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Volta |
| Discovery site | Pino Torinese Obs. |
| Discovery date | 9 January 1934 |
| Designations | |
| (1332) Marconia | |
Named after | Guglielmo Marconi[2] (Italian engineer) |
| 1934 AA · 1930 HQ 1932 VC · 1935 FR 1948 SH · 1956 GB A905 UD · A921 TE A921 UD · A924 EH | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (outer)[4] Marconia[5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 112.02yr (40,916 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.4664AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6587 AU |
| 3.0626 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1319 |
| 5.36 yr (1,958 d) | |
| 2.3975° | |
| 0° 11m 2.04s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4568° |
| 13.652° | |
| 348.94° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 43.90 km(derived)[4] 44.93±10.33 km[6] 46.03±15.75 km[7] 46.796±0.141 km[8] 49.95±0.61 km[9] 52.009±0.600 km[10] | |
| 19.16±0.01 h[11] 19.2264±0.0001 h[12] 32.1201±0.0005 h[13] | |
| 0.04±0.02[6] 0.04±0.04[7] 0.0527(derived)[4] 0.0543±0.0105[10] 0.060±0.002[9] 0.063±0.008[8] | |
| SMASS =Ld[3][13] L(Bus–DeMeo)[13] | |
| 10.20[9][10] · 10.50[7] 10.6[3][4] · 10.62[6] | |
1332 Marconia, provisional designation1934 AA, is a darkasteroid and the parent body of theMarconia family located in the outer regions of theasteroid belt. It measures approximately 46 kilometers (29 miles) in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 9 January 1934, by Italian astronomerLuigi Volta at theObservatory of Turin in Pino Torinese, northern Italy.[1] It was named for Italian electrical engineerGuglielmo Marconi.[2] The uncommonL-type asteroid has arotation period of 19.2 hours.[4]
Marconia is theparent body of theMarconia family (636),[5] a tinyasteroid family of less than 50 known members.[14] It orbits the Sun in theouter asteroid belt at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 4 months (1,958 days;semi-major axis of 3.06 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.13 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[3]
The asteroid was first observed in October 1905, asA905 UD atHeidelberg Observatory, where the body'sobservation arc begins asA924 EH in March 1924, almost 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Pino Torinese.[1]
Marconia has been characterized as anL-type asteroid in the Bus–DeMeo taxonomic system, while in theSMASS classification, it is an Ld-subtype that transitions between the L-type andD-type asteroids.[3][13] The overallspectral type for members of the Marconia family is that of a carbonaceousC-type andX-type.[14]: 23
In September 2012, a first rotationallightcurve ofMarconia was obtained fromphotometric observations byRobert Stephens at his Santana Observatory (646) in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 19.16 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30magnitude (U=3).[11]
A 2016-published lightcurve, using modeled photometric data from the Lowell Photometric Database, gave a concurring sidereal period of 19.2264 hours, as well as aspin axes of (37.0°, 31.0°) and (220.0°, 31.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[12] Conversely, another lightcurve inversion study by an international collaboration gave a longer spin rate of 32.1201 hours.[13]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Marconia measures between 44.93 and 52.009 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.04 and 0.063.[6][7][8][9][10]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0527 and a diameter of 43.90 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 10.6.[4]
Thisminor planet was named afterGuglielmo Marconi (1874–1937), an Italian electrical engineer, pioneer andinventor of radio. In 1909, he received theNobel Prize in Physics together withKarl Ferdinand Braun(also seeList of Nobel laureates in Physics § Laureates). The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 121). The lunar craterMarconi was also named in his honor.[2]
