| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 7 April 1953 |
| Designations | |
| (2278) Götz | |
Named after | Paul Götz (German astronomer)[2] |
| 1953 GE · 1953 GR1 1976 GE2 · 1976 JG | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (inner) background[4][5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 65.12yr (23,784 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.8190AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0867 AU |
| 2.4528 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1493 |
| 3.84 yr (1,403 d) | |
| 284.69° | |
| 0° 15m 23.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.2036° |
| 53.419° | |
| 207.18° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 11.769±0.057 km[6] | |
| 0.039±0.009[6] | |
| Tholen =FC[3] B–V = 0.634[3] U–B = 0.229[3] | |
| 13.5[1][3] | |
2278 Götz, provisional designation1953 GE, is a dark backgroundasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt'sbackground population, approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 7 April 1953, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth at theHeidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.[1] TheF/C-type asteroid was named after astronomerPaul Götz.[2]
Götz is non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population (formerly being classified as a member of theNysa family by Zappala).[4][5] It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,403 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.15 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[3]
The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg. Simultaneously, the asteroid was also observed at theAlmaty Observatory in Kazakhstan (210).[1]
Thisminor planet was named in memory ofPaul Götz (1883–1962), a German astronomer anddiscoverer of minor planets, who was the first assistant ofMax Wolf at Heidelberg in the early 1900s, using the observatory'sBruce telescope and 0.15-meter astrograph.[2] The official naming citation was proposed and prepared by G. Klare andL. D. Schmadel and was published by theMinor Planet Center on 27 June 1991 (M.P.C. 18447).[2][7]
In theTholen classification, the asteroid has an ambiguousspectral type, closest to theF-type and somewhat similar to the carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[3]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Götz measures 11.769 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.039.[6]
As of 2018, no rotationallightcurve ofGötz has been obtained fromphotometric observations since its discovery in 1953. The asteroid'srotation period,pole and shape remain unknown.[3][8]
