| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 29 October 1951 |
| Designations | |
| (1953) Rupertwildt | |
Named after | Rupert Wildt(astronomer)[2] |
| 1951 UK · 1929 VC 1929 WD · 1934 RJ 1951 WG · 1958 BD | |
| main-belt · (outer) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 87.14 yr (31,829 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.6776AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5416 AU |
| 3.1096 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1827 |
| 5.48yr (2,003 days) | |
| 347.06° | |
| 0° 10m 46.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4591° |
| 74.270° | |
| 326.88° | |
| TJupiter | 3.1920 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 21.970±0.270[3] 24 km(est. at0.06)[4] |
| 0.070±0.006[3] | |
| 11.9[1] | |
1953 Rupertwildt, provisionally designated1951 UK, is anasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 October 1951, by theIndiana Asteroid Program of Indiana University at itsGoethe Link Observatory, Indiana, United States, and named after astronomerRupert Wildt.[2][5]
Rupertwildt orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.5–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (2,003 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.18 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1] Due to aprecovery taken atLowell Observatory in 1929, the asteroid'sobservation arc begins 22 years before its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.[5]
According to the surveys carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Rupertwildt measures 22.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.070.[3] Assuming an albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25, the asteroid measures between 12 and 26 kilometers in diameter, based on an absolutemagnitude of 11.9.[4]
As of 2017,Rupertwildt's composition,rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][6]
Thisminor planet was named in memory of German–American astronomerRupert Wildt (1905–1976), professor of Astronomy at Yale University. In 1966, he was awarded theEddington Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society for hisdiscovery of the importance of negative hydrogen ions as a contributor to thesolar atmosphere's opacity. He was one of the first to construct a model of the composition of thegiant planets, as he recognized that the hydrogen-rich methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3) are responsible for the absorption bands at red wavelengths. In the 1960s and 1970s, Wildt was chairman, president and the first scientific representative on the board ofAURA.[2]
The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 6 June 1982 (M.P.C. 6954).[7] The lunar craterWildt is also named in his honour.
