_Britta.png) Shape model ofBritta from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 6 February 1932 |
| Designations | |
| (1219) Britta | |
Named after | unknown[2] |
| 1932 CJ · 1947 XG 1975 FE · A904 SB A915 BD | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (inner) Flora[4] · background[5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 113.51yr (41,461 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.4883AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9390 AU |
| 2.2136 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1241 |
| 3.29 yr (1,203 d) | |
| 131.11° | |
| 0° 17m 57.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.4135° |
| 42.543° | |
| 23.720° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 9.86±0.34 km[6] 11.43±0.9 km[7] 11.76±0.30 km[8] | |
| 5.573±0.001 h[9] 5.574±0.003 h[10] 5.5750±0.0005 h[11] 5.575±0.001 h[12] 5.575 h[13] 5.575 h[14] 5.57556±0.00001 h[15] 5.57557±0.00002 h[16] | |
| 0.223±0.013[8] 0.2267±0.040[7] 0.2629(derived)[4] 0.346±0.041[6] | |
| S(S3OS2)[17] B–V = 0.913[3] U–B = 0.514[3] | |
| 11.7[3] 11.80[4][6] 11.94[7][8] | |
1219 Britta, provisional designation1932 CJ, is a stony backgroundasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers (7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 February 1932, by German astronomerMax Wolf at theHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southern Germany.[1] The likely elongatedS-type asteroid has arotation period of 5.57 hours.[4] Any reference of its name to a person is unknown.[2]
Britta is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population when applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements.[5] Based on osculating Keplerianorbital elements, the asteroid has also been classified as a member of theFlora family (402), a giantasteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[4]
It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,203 days;semi-major axis of 2.21 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.12 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[3]
The asteroid was first observed asA904 SB at Heidelberg Observatory in September 1904. The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg in February 1932.[1]
Thisminor planet is named after a common German female name. Any reference of this name to a person or occurrence is unknown.[2]
Among the many thousands ofnamed minor planets,Britta is one of 120 asteroids, for which no official naming citation has been published. All of these low-numbered asteroids have numbers between164 Eva and1514 Ricouxa and were discovered between 1876 and the 1930s, predominantly by astronomersAuguste Charlois,Johann Palisa,Max Wolf andKarl Reinmuth.[18]
Britta has been characterized as a stonyS-type asteroid in both the Tholen- and SMASS-like taxonomy of theSmall Solar System Objects Spectroscopic Survey (S3OS2).[17]
Several rotationallightcurves[a] ofBritta have been obtained from photometric observations since the 1980s.[9][10][11][12][13][14] The consolidated lightcurve analysis results give arotation period of 5.575 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.48 and 0.75magnitude, indicative of an elongated shape (U=3).[4]
Modeled photometric data from the Lowell Photometric Database (LPD) and the robotic BlueEye600 Observatory, gave a concurring period of 5.57556 and 5.57557 hours, respectively.[15][16] Both studies determined twospin axes of (72.0°, −66.0°) and (241.0°, −66.0°), as well as (61.0°, −2.0°) and (223.0°, −68.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[15][16]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Britta measures between 9.860 and 11.76 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.223 and 0.346.[6][7][8] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.2629 and a diameter of 11.31 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 11.8.[4]
