_Meta.png) Modelled shape ofMeta from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 14 September 1925 |
| Designations | |
| (1050) Meta | |
Named after | unknown[2] |
| 1925 RC · A908 SE | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (middle) Eunomia[4][5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 108.68yr (39,694 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.0904AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1599 AU |
| 2.6252 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1772 |
| 4.25 yr (1,554 d) | |
| 233.12° | |
| 0° 13m 54.12s / day | |
| Inclination | 12.496° |
| 342.33° | |
| 66.282° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 8.773±0.115 km[6] 9.196±0.079 km[7] 10.03±0.65 km[8] 10.53 km(calculated)[4] | |
| 6.14188±0.00001 h[9] 6.142±0.001 h[10] | |
| 0.21(assumed)[4] 0.294±0.042[8] 0.3346±0.0284[7] 0.364±0.062[6] | |
| S(assumed)[4] | |
| 12.00[7][8] · 12.2[3][4] 12.34±0.09[11] | |
1050 Meta, provisional designation1925 RC, is a stonyEunomia asteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 14 September 1925, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth at theHeidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.[1] Themeaning of the asteroids's name is unknown.[2] The presumablyS-type asteroid has arotation period of 6.14 hours and possibly an elongated shape.[4]
Meta is a member of theEunomia family (502),[4][5] a prominentfamily of stonyS-type asteroid and the largest one in the intermediate main belt with more than 5,000 members.[12]: 23 It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,554 days;semi-major axis of 2.63 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.18 and aninclination of 12° with respect to theecliptic.[3]
The body'sobservation arc begins with its first observation asA908 SE at Heidelberg in October 1908, or 17 years prior to its official discovery observation.[1]
Any reference of thisminor planet's name to a person or occurrence is unknown.[2]
Among the many thousands ofnamed minor planets,Meta is one of 120 asteroids, for which no official naming citation has been published. All of these asteroids have low numbers between164 Eva and1514 Ricouxa and were discovered between 1876 and the 1930s, predominantly by astronomersAuguste Charlois,Johann Palisa,Max Wolf andKarl Reinmuth.[13]
According to the overallspectral type for members of the Eunomia family,Meta is an assumedS-type asteroid.[4]
In October 2006, a rotationallightcurve ofMeta was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomerRené Roy. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 6.142 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.46magnitude, indicating that the asteroid has an elongated shape (U=3).[10]
A modeled lightcurve using photometric data from the Lowell Photometric Database was published in 2016. It gave a concurring period of 6.14188 hours, as well as twospin axes at (60.0°, −42.0°) and (198.0°, −79.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[9]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Meta measures between 8.773 and 10.03 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.294 and 0.364.[6][7][8]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.21 – derived from15 Eunomia, the namesake andparent body of the Eunomia family – and calculates a diameter of 10.53 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.2.[4]
