_Rheinland.png) Shape model ofRheinland from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | F. Börngen |
| Discovery site | Karl Schwarzschild Obs. |
| Discovery date | 10 December 1991 |
| Designations | |
| (6070) Rheinland | |
Named after | Rhineland[1] (German region) |
| 1991 XO1 · 1950 TW1 1983 NW | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (inner) Nysa[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 67.36yr (24,605 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.8917AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8824 AU |
| 2.3870 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2114 |
| 3.69 yr (1,347 d) | |
| 96.675° | |
| 0° 16m 1.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.1297° |
| 83.948° | |
| 292.67° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 4.36 km(derived)[4] 4.4±0.6 km[5] | |
| 4.27333±0.00005 h[6] 4.2735±0.0003 h[a] 4.27371±0.00005 h[7] 4.2737137±0.0000005 h[5] 4.273715±0.000003 h[8] 4.287±0.0015 h[9] 4.482±0.001 h[10] | |
| 0.20±0.05[5] | |
| S/Q[11] · S(SDSS-MFB)[4][b] V–R =0.490±0.050[5] | |
| 13.67±0.02(R)[5] 13.68±0.02(R)[a] 13.8[2] 14.07±0.19[11] 14.17[4] 14.17±0.054[12] 14.17±0.07[7] 14.342±0.006(S)[9] | |
6070 Rheinland (prov. designation:1991 XO1) is apairedNysian asteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4.4 kilometers (2.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 10 December 1991, by German astronomerFreimut Börngen at theKarl Schwarzschild Observatory in Tautenburg, Germany. The asteroid was named after theRhineland, a region in western Germany.[1] Thestony asteroid has a rotation period of 4.27 hours.[4]
Rheinland is a member of theNysa family (405),[3] the largestasteroid family that can be divided further into subfamilies with different spectral properties.[13]: 23
It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,347 days;semi-major axis of 2.39 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.21 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The asteroid was first observed as1950 TW1 atHeidelberg Observatory in October 1950. The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken at thePalomar Observatory in March 1956, more than 35 years prior to its official discovery observation at Tautenburg.[1]
Thisminor planet was named after theRhineland, a region in western Germany.[1] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 17 March 1995 (M.P.C. 24919).[14]
Rheinland has been characterized as anS- andQ-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS' photometric survey.[11] It is also characterized as a stonyS-type asteroid in theSDSS–MFB taxonomy (Masi Foglia Binzel).[4][b]
Several rotationallightcurves ofRheinland have been obtained fromphotometric observations since 2009.[6][9][10][a] Analysis of the best-rated lightcurve gave arotation period of 4.27333 hours with a consolidated brightness amplitude between 0.40 and 0.58magnitude (U=3).[4]
Published in 2014, a modeled lightcurve gave a period 4.273715 hours, as well as a twospin axes of (110.0°, −60.0°) and (290°, −60.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[8] In 2017, modelling gave a period of4.2737137 h and a single spin axis of (124°, −87.0°),[5] refining a previously published result of4.27371 h and (4°, −76.0°).[7]
According to a detailed study published in 2017,Rheinland measures 4.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.20,[5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link also assumes an albedo of 0.20 and derives a similar diameter of 4.36 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 14.17.[4]
Rheinland forms anasteroid pair with asteroid(54827) 2001 NQ8, a newly found class of two unbound bodies on nearly identical orbits around the Sun. Asteroid pairs have not been studied in detail yet. In the past, the members of a pair (or cluster if more than two members) had very small relative velocities and may have been abinary asteroid until they became gravitationally unbound and continued on separate orbits. Other asteroid pairs may have resulted from a collisional breakup of aparent body similar to the process that formed theasteroid families.[15]
It is thought that this pair was created due to rotational fission (YORP effect) some16340±40 years ago.[5] The other body of this pair,2001 NQ8, has a diameter of approximately 2.09 kilometers, an albedo of 0.213, and is an assumedQ-type asteroid.[16][15]
