_Chandra.png) Modelled shape ofChandra from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. U. Cesco |
| Discovery site | El Leoncito (Yale–Columbia Station) |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1970 |
| Designations | |
| (1958) Chandra | |
Named after | Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (astrophysicist)[2] |
| 1970 SB · 1947 HD 1959 RG1 · 1965 UN 1971 XA | |
| main-belt · (outer)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.66 yr (22,887 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.6220AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5840 AU |
| 3.1030 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1673 |
| 5.47yr (1,997 days) | |
| 233.69° | |
| 0° 10m 49.08s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.559° |
| 345.04° | |
| 318.95° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 33.82 km(derived)[3] 34.278±0.220[4] 36.167±0.349 km[5] |
| 7.0571±0.0029h[6] 7.070±0.004 h[7] | |
| 0.0511(derived)[3] 0.0709±0.0138[5] 0.082±0.007[4] | |
| C[3] | |
| 10.7[5] · 11.102±0.003(R)[6] · 11.18±0.18[8] · 11.2[1][3] | |
1958 Chandra (prov. designation:1970 SB) is a darkbackground asteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 35 kilometers (22 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1970, by Argentinian astronomerCarlos Cesco at the Yale–Columbia Southern Station of theLeoncito Astronomical Complex in San Juan, Argentina(also seeFélix Aguilar Observatory).[9] It was named after astrophysicistSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.[2]
Chandra is a darkC-type asteroid that orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (1,997 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.17 and aninclination of 11° with respect to theecliptic.[1] In April 1947, the asteroid was first identified as1947 HD atAlgiers Observatory. The body'sobservation arc begins 16 years prior to its official discovery observation with aprecovery taken atPalomar Observatory in 1954.[9]
Thisminor planet was named in honor ofSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995), the Nobel Prize winning Indian–American theoreticalastrophysicist(also seeChandrasekhar limit).[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 November 1979 (M.P.C. 5013).[10]
In December 2010, a rotationallightcurve was obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations at the U.S.Palomar Transient Factory, California. It gave arotation period of7.0571±0.0029 hours with a brightness variation of 0.35magnitude (U=2).[6] A second lightcurve, obtained by Italian amateur astronomerSilvano Casulli in August 2014, gave a concurring period of7.070±0.004 hours with an amplitude of 0.38 in magnitude (U=3-).[7]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 36.2 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.07,[5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.05 and a diameter of 33.8 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 11.2.[3]
