| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 27 July 1933 |
| Designations | |
| (1284) Latvia | |
Named after | Latvia(Republic of Latvia)[2] |
| 1933 OP · 1925 WK 1931 DW · 1933 QP 1950 RL | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 83.45 yr (30,481 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.0967AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1952 AU |
| 2.6459 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1704 |
| 4.30yr (1,572 days) | |
| 78.834° | |
| 0° 13m 44.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.874° |
| 302.96° | |
| 114.40° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 33.27±7.09 km[4] 36.81±1.2 km(IRAS:18)[5] 41.128±0.457 km[6] 41.47±0.52 km[7] 45.19±0.74 km[8] 47.255±0.627 km[9] |
| 9.55±0.01h[10] 9.552±0.001 h[11] 9.644±0.002 h[12] 18 h[13] | |
| 0.0634±0.0058[9] 0.069±0.011[8] 0.083±0.003[7] 0.1045±0.007(IRAS:18)[5] 0.13±0.06[4] | |
| B–V = 0.768[1] U–B = 0.353[1] T(Tholen),[1]L(SMASS)[1] · L[3] | |
| 10.20±0.17[14] · 10.23[4] · 10.24[1][3][5][7][8][9] | |
1284 Latvia, provisional designation1933 OP, is a rare-typeasteroid from the middle region of theasteroid belt, approximately 37 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 27 July 1933, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth atHeidelberg Observatory in southern Germany, and named after theRepublic of Latvia.[2][15]
Latvia orbits the Sun in themiddle main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 4 months (1,572 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.17 and aninclination of 11° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
It was first identified as1925 WK at Moscow Observatory (105) in 1925, and then as1931 DW atLowell Observatory in 1931. The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg in 1933.[15]
Latvia is classified as a rareT andL type asteroid in theTholen andSMASS taxonomy schemes, respectively. Both indicate a featurelessspectra of a dark and reddish body.[1]
The current best rated rotationallightcurve of Latvia was obtained by the "Spanish Photometric Asteroid Analysis Group" (OBAS) in September 2015. Lightcurve analysis gave it arotation period of 9.55 hours with a brightness variation of 0.23magnitude (U=3-).[10]
Previous photometric observations by James W. Brinsfield at Via Capote Observatory (G69) and French amateur astronomerLaurent Bernasconi gave a period of 9.552 and 9.644 hours with an amplitude of 0.10 and 0.21 magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).[11][12] The first rotational lightcurve obtained byRichard P. Binzel in the 1980s gave a twice a long period solution of 18 hours (U=1).[13]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Latvia measures between 33.27 and 41.47 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.083 and 0.13 (without preliminary results).[4][5][6][7] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results by IRAS, that is an albedo of 0.1045 and a diameter of 36.81 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 10.24.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after theRepublic of Latvia.[2] Naming citation was first mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 118).[2]
