| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. Palisa |
| Discovery site | Vienna Obs. |
| Discovery date | 29 August 1916 |
| Designations | |
| (827) Wolfiana | |
Named after | Max Wolf [2] (German astronomer) |
| 1916 ZW · 1928 DK 1940 RA | |
| main-belt · (inner) Flora [3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 100.68 yr (36,773d) |
| Aphelion | 2.6314AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9172 AU |
| 2.2743 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1570 |
| 3.43yr (1,253 days) | |
| 145.31° | |
| 0° 17m 14.64s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.4231° |
| 172.92° | |
| 195.31° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.51 km(calculated)[3] 8.488±0.165 km[5] 8.976±0.020 km[6] |
| 4.0±0.3h[7] 4.0654±0.0001 h[8] | |
| 0.1153±0.0299[6] 0.129±0.020[5] 0.24(assumed)[3] | |
| S(assumed)[3] | |
| 13.1[1][3] · 13.2[6] | |
827 Wolfiana, provisional designation1916 ZW, is a Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered atVienna Observatory on 29 August 1916, by Austrian astronomerJohann Palisa, who named it after German astronomerMax Wolf.[2][9] The assumedstony asteroid has a rotation period of 4.0654 hours.
Wolfiana is a member of theFlora family (402),[3][4] a giantasteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main belt.[10]: 23 It orbits the Sun in theinner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,253 days;semi-major axis of 2.27 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.16 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Vienna.[9]
Wolfiana is an assumed stonyS-type asteroid,[3] which agrees with the overallspectral type for Florian asteroids.[10]: 23
In September 2012, a rotationallightcurve ofWolfiana was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomers Luis Martinez, Arizona, andFrederick Pilcher at Organ Mesa Observatory (G50), New Mexico. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 4.0654 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.20magnitude (U=3),[8] refining a period of 4.0 hours previously measured in November 2009 (U=2).[7]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Wolfiana measures 8.488 and 8.976 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.129 and 0.1153, respectively.[5][6]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, theparent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 6.51 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.1.[3]
Thisminor planet was named by the discoverer in 1920 (AN 211;441) after German astronomer, colleague and friend,Max Wolf (1863–1932), a professor of astronomy atHeidelberg University and founder and director of theHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory, who discovered several novae, comets and 248 minor planets.[2]
The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 82). Asteroid1217 Maximiliana and the lunar craterWolf were also named in his honor.[2]
