| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 17 February 1950 |
| Designations | |
| (2572) Annschnell | |
Named after | Anneliese Schnell (astronomer)[2] |
| 1950 DL · 1969 LE 1977 SF · 1980 JN | |
| main-belt · background | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 67.29 yr (24,577 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7419AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0403 AU |
| 2.3911 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1467 |
| 3.70yr (1,351 days) | |
| 8.0166° | |
| 0° 15m 59.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.1408° |
| 200.48° | |
| 51.593° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.424±0.142 km[3][4] 12.18 km(calculated)[5] |
| 6.328±0.001h[6] | |
| 0.057(assumed)[5] 0.658±0.162[3][4] | |
| CX[7] · C[5] | |
| 13.3[1][5] · 13.4[3] · 13.46±0.38[7] | |
2572 Annschnell, provisional designation1950 DL, is a backgroundasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 17 February 1950, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth atHeidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany, and named after Austrian astronomerAnneliese Schnell.[8]
Annschnell is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population, located near the region of theVesta family in theinner asteroid belt. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,351 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.15 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg, as noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.[8]
Thisminor planet was named after Austrian astronomer Anneliese Schnell (1941–2015) at theVienna Observatory. She was the first woman on the board of theAstronomische Gesellschaft, an international society for German-speaking astronomers, since its founding in 1863.[2] As a stellar astronomer, her research includedcentral stars of planetary nebulae,CP stars,binaries and different types ofvariable stars.[9]
In the 1990s, she became a member of theWorking Group for the History of Astronomy of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, where she also works on problems in the history of astronomy, in particular on the meaning of the names and on the discovery circumstances ofJohann Palisa's discoveries.[2]
Proposed byLutz Schmadel and endorsed byEdward Bowell andBrian Marsden, the approved naming citation was prepared by Schmadel and published by theMinor Planet Center on 21 November 1991 (M.P.C. 19333).[2][10]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Annschnell measures 3.424 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a highalbedo of 0.658,[3][4] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forcarbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and consequently calculates a much larger diameter of 12.18 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.3.[5]PanSTARRS' large-scale photometric survey has classifiedAnnschnell as a CX-subtype, an intermediary group between the carbonaceous C- and coreX-type asteroids.[7]
In May 2006, the first and only rotationallightcurve ofAnnschnell was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomerLaurent Bernasconi. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 6.328 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.76magnitude (U=2+). The high amplitude indicates that the body has a non-spheroidal shape.
