_Crocus.png) Shape model ofCrocus from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 11 February 1932 |
| Designations | |
| (1220) Crocus | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkroʊkəs/[2] |
Named after | Crocus[3] |
| 1932 CU · 1955 PC | |
| main-belt · Eos[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 85.31 yr (31,161 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2243AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7807 AU |
| 3.0025 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0739 |
| 5.20yr (1,900 days) | |
| 204.16° | |
| 0° 11m 21.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 11.365° |
| 113.34° | |
| 333.41° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 17.866±0.175[5] |
| 491.4±0.1[6] | |
| 0.114±0.020[5] | |
| S[4] | |
| 11.72[1] | |
1220 Crocus, provisionally designated1932 CU, is a stony Eoanasteroid andslow rotator from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 11 February 1932, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth atHeidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.[7]
Crocus is a member of theEos family, a collisional population of mostly stony composition. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.8–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 2 months (1,900 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.07 and aninclination of 11° with respect to theecliptic.[1]A
The asteroid has been characterized as a stonyS-type asteroid.[4]
In December 2014, a rotationallightcurve ofCrocus was obtained from photometric observations by an international collaboration of several astronomers from Europe and the United States. Lightcurve analysis gave a longrotation period of 491 hours with a brightness variation of 1.00magnitude (U=3).[6]
Thisminor planet was later named after the genus of flowering plants,Crocus, in theiris family.[3]
