.png) Lightcurve-based 3D-model ofMavis | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Johnson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 September 1950 |
| Designations | |
| (1607) Mavis | |
Named after | Mavis Bruwer (wife of astronomer) Jacobus Bruwer[2] |
| 1950 RA · 1934 VQ 1958 OB · 1958 PD A903 BH | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 114.29 yr (41,743 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.3268AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7728 AU |
| 2.5498 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3047 |
| 4.07yr (1,487 days) | |
| 158.86° | |
| 0° 14m 31.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 8.5789° |
| 122.53° | |
| 235.96° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 11.57±1.76 km[4] 12.10 km(derived)[3] 12.756±0.210 km[5][6] 14.91±0.25 km[7] |
| 6.1339±0.0004h[8] 6.1508±0.0005 h[9] | |
| 0.189±0.007[7] 0.193±0.021[6] 0.2487±0.0428[5] 0.31±0.11[4] 0.3320(derived)[3] | |
| S[3][10] | |
| 11.29±0.27[10] · 11.4[1][3] · 11.54[4] · 11.6[7][5] | |
1607 Mavis, provisional designation1950 RA, is a stonyasteroid from the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 September 1950, by South African astronomerErnest Johnson atJohannesburg Observatory in South Africa.[11] It was later named Mavis Beacon.
This asteroid orbits the Sun in themiddle main-belt at a distance of 1.8–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,487 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.30 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroid'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observations, as the two previous identifications,A903 BH and1934 VQ, made atHeidelberg andSimeiz in 1903 and 1934, respectively, remained unused.[11]
Mavis is a stonyS-type asteroid.[3][10]
In September 2007, Australian astronomers Collin Bembrick and Julian Oey independently obtained two rotationallightcurves ofMavis. These well-defined lightcurves gave arotation period of 6.1339 and 6.1508 hours with a brightness variation of 0.50 and 0.53magnitude, respectively (U=3/3).[8][9]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Mavis measures between 11.57 and 14.91 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.189 and 0.31.[4][5][6][7] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.3320 and a diameter of 12.10 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 11.4.[3]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of the Mavis Bruwer, wife of astronomerJacobus Albertus Bruwer, who was an astronomer at Johannesburg Observatory, and after whom1811 Bruwer was named.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3931).[12]
