| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | S. Arend |
| Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
| Discovery date | 1 September 1953 |
| Designations | |
| (1916) Boreas | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɔːriəs/[2] |
Named after | Boreas(Greek mythology)[3] |
| 1953 RA | |
| NEO · Amor[1][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.73 yr (23,279 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2944AU |
| Perihelion | 1.2506 AU |
| 2.2725 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.4497 |
| 3.43yr (1,251 days) | |
| 252.13° | |
| 0° 17m 15.72s / day | |
| Inclination | 12.884° |
| 340.64° | |
| 335.83° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.2520 AU · 98.2LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.07 km(calculated)[5] 3.5 km[1] |
| 3.4741±0.0003h[6][a] 3.4746 h[7] 3.4746±0.0010 h[a] 3.4748±0.0010 h[a] 3.49±0.01 h[8] | |
| 0.15(assumed)[1] 0.20(assumed)[5] | |
| S(Tholen),S(SMASS) S[9] · Sw[5][10][11] B–V = 0.852 U–B = 0.407 | |
| 14.86±0.112[5][12] · 14.93[1][11] | |
1916 Boreas, provisional designation1953 RA, is an eccentric, stonyasteroid andnear-Earth object of theAmor group, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. After its discovery in 1953, it became alost asteroid until 1974. It was named afterBoreas from Greek mythology.
Boreas was discovered on 1 September 1953, by Belgian astronomerSylvain Arend at theRoyal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle.[4] The asteroid was observed for 2 months and then with time became alost asteroid. It was recovered in 1974, by Richard Eugene McCrosky, G. Schwartz and JH Bulger based on a predicted position byBrian G. Marsden.[b][13]
Boreas orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.3–3.3 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,251 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.45 and aninclination of 13° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
Thenear-Earth asteroid has anEarthminimum orbit intersection distance of 0.2520 AU (37,700,000 km),[1] which corresponds to 98.2lunar distances. Itsobservation arc begins with it official discovery observation at Uccle in 1953.[4]
On theTholen andSMASS taxonomic scheme,Boreas is classified as a commonS-type asteroid with a stony composition.[1] It has also been characterized as a Sw-subtype.[5][10][11]
Several rotationallightcurves gave arotation period between 3.4741 and 3.49 hours with a brightness variation between 0.25 and 0.35magnitude (U=2/2/3/n.a.).[6][7][8][a]
In 1994, astronomerTom Gehrels estimatedBoreas to measure 3.5 kilometers in diameter, based on an assumedalbedo of 0.15.[1] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 3.07 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 14.93.[5]
Thisminor planet is named after the Greek god of the north wind,Boreas, as the asteroid was discovered moving rapidly northward after passing the ascending node of its orbit.[3] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6833).[14]
