| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | R. Carrasco |
| Discovery site | Madrid Obs. |
| Discovery date | 16 December 1935 |
| Designations | |
| (1644) Rafita | |
Named after | Rafael Carrasco (discoverer's son)[2] |
| 1935 YA · 1939 XA 1941 JB · 1949 JC 1951 VF · 1955 TS 1957 GD · 1959 UD A906 RB · A916 BA | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] Rafita-interloper[4]: 23 | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 110.53 yr (40,371 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9426AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1539 AU |
| 2.5483 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1548 |
| 4.07yr (1,486 days) | |
| 13.784° | |
| 0° 14m 32.28s / day | |
| Inclination | 7.0193° |
| 270.90° | |
| 197.05° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 13.958±0.157 km[5] 15.405±0.072 km[6] 15.48 km(taken)[3] 15.482 km[7] 17.69±1.08 km[8] |
| 5.100±0.002h[9] 6.800±0.004 h[10] | |
| 0.106±0.014[8] 0.1329[7] 0.1403±0.0148[6] 0.164±0.028[5] | |
| Tholen =S[1][3] B–V = 0.867[1] U–B = 0.404[1] | |
| 11.82[1][6][8] · 11.82±0.21[11] · 11.86±0.02[3][7][9] | |
1644 Rafita, provisional designation1935 YA, is a stonyasteroid from the middle region of theasteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It is the namesake of theRafita family, afamily ofstony asteroids in theintermediate main-belt. However,Rafita is a suspectedinterloper in its own family.[4]: 23 It was discovered on 16 December 1935, by Spanish astronomerRafael Carrasco Garrorena at the RoyalObservatorio Astronómico de Madrid in Spain, and named in memory of the discoverer's son.[2][12]
Rafita asteroid orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,486 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.15 and aninclination of 7° with respect to theecliptic.[1]Rafita was first observed asA906 RB atHeidelberg Observatory in 1906, extending the body'sobservation arc by 29 years prior to its official discovery observation.[12]
Rafita's first rotationallightcurve was obtained by American astronomer Alan Harris ofJPL in January 1981. It gave arotation period of 5.100 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31magnitude (U=2).[9] Photometric observations by French amateur astronomerLaurent Bernasconi in December 2004, gave a period of 6.800 hours and an amplitude of 0.13 magnitude (U=2).[10]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Rafita measures between 13.96 and 17.69 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.106 and 0.164.[5][6][8] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees withPetr Pravec's revised WISE-results, that is an albedo of 0.1329 and a diameter of 15.482 kilometers, based on anabsolute magnitude of 11.86.[3][7]
Thisminor planet was named by the discoverer in honor of his late son, Rafael Carrasco.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 30 January 1964 (M.P.C. 2277).[13]
