_Magnya.png) Shape ofMagnya modelled from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | G. Neujmin |
| Discovery site | Simeiz Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 November 1937 |
| Designations | |
| (1459) Magnya | |
Named after | Magnya[2] ("clear, bright, wonderful") |
| 1937 VA | |
| main-belt · (outer)[3] background[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 79.48 yr (29,030 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.8761AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4113 AU |
| 3.1437 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2330 |
| 5.57yr (2,036 days) | |
| 121.53° | |
| 0° 10m 36.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 16.940° |
| 41.541° | |
| 328.81° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 17 km[5] 17.4 km(taken)[3] 29.188±1.833 km[6] 29.90±3.1 km[7] |
| 4.678±0.001h[8] 4.67888±0.00004 h[9] 4.679100±0.000005 h[10] 4.679102±0.000001 h[11] 4.67911±0.00005 h[12] 4.68 h[13] 4.680 h[5] | |
| 0.2168±0.053[7] 0.37[5] 0.909±0.224[6] | |
| V (Tholen)[3] | |
| 8.39[6] · 9.90[7] · 10.4[1] · 10.5[3][5] · 10.69±0.23[14] | |
1459 Magnya, provisional designation1937 VA, is a basaltic, slightly elongatedasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers in diameter. Discovered byGrigory Neujmin at theSimeiz Observatory in 1937,[15] this background asteroid was later named from the Latin word "Magnya", which means "clear, bright, wonderful" when literally translated into Russian.[2] It is the only known basalt asteroid orbiting beyond4 Vesta.[16]
Magnya was discovered on 4 November 1937, by Soviet astronomerGrigory Neujmin at theSimeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula.[15] Two nights later, it was independently discovered by French astronomerAndré Patry atNice Observatory on 6 November 1937.[2] TheMinor Planet Center only recognizes the first discoverer,[15] although Patry was first to announce the discovery.[1] However, André Patry later received the honor to name the asteroid(see below).[2]
Magnya is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population.[4] It orbits the Sun in theouter asteroid belt at a distance of 2.4–3.9 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,036 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.23 and aninclination of 17° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins at Nice Observatory, 22 days after its official discovery observation at Simeiz.[15]
Magnya is aV-type asteroid in theTholen classification.[3] The spectrum of this object show that it has abasaltic surface, which may indicate that it is a remnant from a larger parent body that underwentdifferentiation prior to breaking up. As of 2000, it is the only known basalt asteroid orbiting beyond4 Vesta in the outer main belt.[16]
Several rotationallightcurves ofMagnya have been obtained from photometric observations since 2005. Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidatedrotation period of 4.678 hours with a brightness variation between 0.57 and 0.84magnitude (U=3/3/2/3).[5][8][9][13] A high brightness amplitude is indicative of a non-spherical, elongated shape.
The asteroid's lightcurve has also been modeled several time using photometric data from the Lowell Photometric Database and other sources. Modelling gave a concurring (sidereal) period of 4.679100, 4.679102 and 4.67911 hours.[10][11][12] The studies determined two spin axis inecliptic coordinates (λ, β): (73.0°, −54.0°) and (198.0°, −55.0°),[11] as well as (72.0°, −59.0°) and (207.0°, −51.0°).[12] Modeling also confirmed that the body is a slightly elongated ellipsoid, and revealed that it is rotating along the smallest axis and that it has an almost homogeneous surface.[10]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, as well as interferometric observations with theVLTI,Magnya measures between 17 and 29.90 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.2168 and an exceptionally high 0.909.[5][6][7]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by the VLT, that is an albedo of 0.37 and takes a diameter of 17.4 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 10.5.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after "Magnya", which means "clear, bright, wonderful" when literally translated from Latin into Russian. The name was proposed by the second, unofficial discovererAndré Patry, who was also the first to compute the asteroid's orbit (research by the author of the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names,Lutz D. Schmadel, is based on private communications with Crimean astronomers N. Solovaya andN. S. Chernykh).[2]
