| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Wild |
| Discovery site | Zimmerwald Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 September 1977 |
| Designations | |
| (2368) Beltrovata | |
Named after | Betty Tendering (friend ofGottfried Keller)[2] |
| 1977 RA | |
| NEO · Amor [1][3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 38.65 yr (14,117 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9751AU |
| Perihelion | 1.2356 AU |
| 2.1054 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.4131 |
| 3.05yr (1,116 days) | |
| 39.633° | |
| 0° 19m 21.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.2222° |
| 287.34° | |
| 43.081° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.2334 AU · 90.9LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.3 km[1] 2.70 km(calculated)[4] 3.003±0.493 km[5] |
| 5.9 h[6][7] | |
| 0.161±0.081[5] 0.20(assumed)[4] 0.27[1] | |
| Tholen = SQ [1] · S [4] B–V = 0.830[1] U–B = 0.520[1] | |
| 15.21[1][4][5] · 15.33±0.40[8] | |
2368 Beltrovata, provisional designation1977 RA, is an eccentric stonyasteroid andnear-Earth object of theAmor group, approximately 2.7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 September 1977, by Swiss astronomerPaul Wild atZimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.[3] The asteroid was named for Betty Tendering, a friend of authorGottfried Keller.[2]
Beltrovata orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.2–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 1 month (1,116 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.41 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
As anAmor asteroid, it approaches the orbit of Earth from the outside but does not cross it. It has an Earthminimum orbit intersection distance of 0.2334 AU (34,900,000 km), which corresponds to 90.9lunar distances.[1] The asteroid'sobservation arc begins with its official discovering observation at Zimmerwald.[3]
In theTholen classificationBeltrovata is a SQ-type asteroid, an intermediate between the commonS-type andQ-type asteroids.[1]
A first rotationallightcurve ofBeltrovata was obtained from photoelectric observations made by U.S. astronomersEdward Bowell andSchelte Bus in the 1970s (IAUC 3111), and gave arotation period of5.9 hours with a brightness variation of 0.84magnitude (U=n.a.).[7] In 2000, theNear-Earth Objects Follow-up Program published an identical period but with a higher amplitude of 1.05 magnitude.(U=2).[6]
According to the space-based survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 3.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.16,[5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.7 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 15.21.[4]
Thisminor planet is named "Beltrovata", which is the name by whom the Swiss authorGottfried Keller from Zürich called his friend Betty Tendering. She served as role model for the character of "Dortchen Schönfund" in Keller's novelGreen Henry.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 August 1981 (M.P.C. 6209).[9]
