_Gerarda.png) Modelled shape ofGerarda from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | H. van Gent |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 9 September 1934 |
| Designations | |
| (1337) Gerarda | |
Named after | Gerarda Prins[2] (wife of astronomer) |
| 1934 RA1 · 1942 EE1 | |
| main-belt · (outer)[3] background[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 83.06 yr (30,337 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.1978AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6247 AU |
| 2.9113 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0984 |
| 4.97yr (1,814 days) | |
| 257.78° | |
| 0° 11m 54.24s / day | |
| Inclination | 17.979° |
| 160.29° | |
| 201.86° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 35.56±11.35 km[5] 38.84 km(derived)[3] 38.86±3.6 km[6] 40.875±0.305 km[7] 40.91±0.49 km[8] 41.53±0.48 km[9] 43.22±12.45 km[10] 46.464±0.379 km[11] |
| 12.462±0.0145h[12] 12.52 h[13] | |
| 0.0297±0.0042[11] 0.03±0.02[10] 0.034±0.007[9] 0.04±0.04[5] 0.042±0.001[8] 0.0425(derived)[3] 0.0441±0.010[6] | |
| P[11] · X[14] C(assumed)[3] | |
| 10.88±0.45[14] · 10.970±0.001(R)[12] · 11.06[6][8] · 11.10[3][11][13] · 11.20[1][9][10] · 11.29[5] | |
1337 Gerarda, provisional designation1934 RA1, is a dark backgroundasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 40 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 September 1934, by Dutch astronomerHendrik van Gent at theUnion Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa.[15] The asteroid was named after Gerarda Prins, the wife of an orbit computer atLeiden Observatory.[2]
Gerarda is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population.[4] It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 12 months (1,814 days;semi-major axis of 2.91 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.10 and aninclination of 18° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Johannesburg.[15]
Gerarda has been characterized as a dark and primitiveP-type asteroid by theWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).[11] It has also been classified as anX-type asteroid byPan-STARRS photometric survey,[14] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes it to be a carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[3]
In November 1984, a first rotationallightcurve ofGerarda was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomerRichard Binzel. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 12.52 hours with a brightness variation of 0.23magnitude (U=2).[13] A similar period of 12.462 with an identical amplitude of 0.23 was measured by astronomers at thePalomar Transient Factory in June 2012 (U=2).[12]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope,Gerarda measures between 35.56 and 46.464 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.0297 and 0.0441.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
CALL derives an albedo of 0.0425 and a diameter of 38.84 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 11.10.[3]
Thisminor planet was named by Dutch astronomerGerrit Pels, who computed this asteroid's orbit. It was named after Gerarda Prins, the wife of G. Prins, an orbit computer atLeiden Observatory.[2] The author of theDictionary of Minor Planet Names,Lutz Schmadel, learned about the naming circumstances fromIngrid van Houten-Groeneveld, who was herself a long-time staff member at the Leiden Observatory.[2]
