| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 April 1949 |
| Designations | |
| (1798) Watts | |
Named after | Chester Watts (American astronomer)[2] |
| 1949 GC · 1934 VS 1937 RL · 1970 YB 1973 UD6 | |
| main-belt · Flora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 82.46 yr (30,117 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4676AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9315 AU |
| 2.1996 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1219 |
| 3.26yr (1,192 days) | |
| 136.39° | |
| 0° 18m 7.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.1941° |
| 44.269° | |
| 4.0161° | |
| Knownsatellites | 1[4][a] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.45±0.28 km[5] 6.631±0.186 km[6] 6.986±0.060 km[7] 7.14 km(calculated)[3] |
| 3.5060±0.0004 | |
| 0.24(assumed)[3] 0.2765±0.0258[7] 0.294±0.053[5] | |
| SMASS =S[1] · LS[8] · S[3] | |
| 12.8[7] · 12.9[1][3][5] · 13.05±0.17[8] | |
1798 Watts, provisional designation1949 GC, is a stonyasteroid andbinary system from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 4 April 1949, byIU'sIndiana Asteroid Program atGoethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States.[9] The asteroid was named for American astronomerChester Burleigh Watts.[2] Its smallminor-planet moon has aperiod of 26.96 hours.
Watts is a member of theFlora family, a large group of stonyS-type asteroids in theinner main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,192 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.12 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1]Watts was first observed and identified as1934 VS atYerkes Observatory in 1934, extending the body'sobservation arc by 15 years prior to its official discovery observation.[9]
In theSMASS classification,Watts is characterized as a common stonyS-type asteroid.[1] It is also classified as a LS-type byPanSTARRS's photometric survey.[8]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Watts measures 6.63 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.276 and 0.294.[5][6][7] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this asteroid family – and calculates a diameter of 7.14 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 12.9.[3]
In February 2017, a rotationallightcurve ofWatts was obtained from photometric observations by . Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 3.5060 hours with a low brightness amplitude of 0.06magnitude, indicating that the body has a spheroidal shape (U=n.a.).[a]
During the photometric observations, aminor-planet moon was discovered, makingWatts abinary asteroid. The satellite of the synchronous binary has anorbital period of 26.96 hours.[4][a]
Thisminor planet was named in honour of American astronomerChester Burleigh Watts (1889–1971), a graduate ofIndiana University. He worked at theUnited States Naval Observatory for 44 years, making distinguished contributions in the field of positional astronomy and pioneered in the field of automation of transit circle observations, which led to results of the highest systematic accuracy. From the late 1940 until 1963 he meticulously mapped every feature on the marginal zone of the Moon.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 15 June 1973 (M.P.C. 3508).[10]
