 Lightcurve-base 3D-model of 458 Hercynia. | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf A. Schwassmann |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 21 September 1900 |
| Designations | |
| (458) Hercynia | |
| Pronunciation | /hərˈsɪniə/[2][3] |
Named after | Hercynian Forest[4] (ancient European forest) |
| 1900 FK · 1947 XB 2016 FW5 · A902 CA A915 PD | |
| main-belt · (outer)[5] background[6] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 116.79 yr (42,656 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.7176AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2784 AU |
| 2.9980 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2400 |
| 5.19yr (1,896 days) | |
| 178.41° | |
| 0° 11m 23.64s / day | |
| Inclination | 12.640° |
| 134.26° | |
| 276.79° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 33.70±7.94 km[7] 36.10±0.85 km[8] 36.698±0.408 km[9] 38.57 km(derived)[5] 38.75±1.0 km[10] 41.410±1.172 km[11] 42.27±0.92 km[12] |
| 15.33±0.04h[13] 16 h[14] 21.806±0.006 h[15] 22.3 h[16] 22.41±0.01 h[14] | |
| 0.1435±0.0205[11] 0.145±0.007[12] 0.1654±0.009[10] 0.19±0.10[7] 0.191±0.034[8] | |
| Tholen =S[1] SMASS =L[1] · L[17] · M[11] B–V = 0.885[1] U–B = 0.471[1] | |
| 9.63[1][8][10][12] · 9.64[5][11][16] · 9.64±0.24[18] · 9.72[7] | |
458 Hercynia, provisional designation1900 FK, is a backgroundasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 38 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 September 1900, by astronomersMax Wolf andArnold Schwassmann at theHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany.[19] The asteroid was named for the ancientHercynian Forest, known to the Romans as "Hercynia silva".[4]
Hercynia is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population.[6] It orbits the Sun in theouter asteroid belt at a distance of 2.3–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 2 months (1,896 days;semi-major axis of 3.00 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.24 and aninclination of 13° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins two days after to its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.[19]
In theTholen classification,Hercynia is a commonS-type, while in theSMASS classification it is a rareL-type asteroid.[1] Polarimetric observations also determined an L-type.[17] Alternatively, theWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) characterizedHercynia as a metallicM-type asteroid.[11]
Several rotationallightcurves ofHercynia have been obtained from photometric observations since 1985.[5] Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated, slightly longer-than averagerotation period of 21.806 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.10 and 0.36magnitude (U=2/2-/3/2/2).[13][14][15][16]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope,Hercynia measures between 33.70 and 42.27 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.1435 and 0.191.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts an albedo of 0.1654 from IRAS, and derives a diameter of 38.57 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 9.64.[5][10]
Thisminor planet was named after the ancient Central EuropeanHercynian Forest, known as "Hercynia silva" to theRomans. The mountainous and dense forest stretched from the upper part of theRhine to theCarpathian Mountains in southeastern Europe. According toCaesar, it required a nine-day journey to cross the forest. (TheBlack Forest located to the south of the discovering observatory is a remnant of the western part of this forest). The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 50).[4]
