.jpg) An image of Aglaja taken by theSDSS telescope on 13 October 1999. The minor planet was 1.7 AU from Earth at the time of photography. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Robert Luther |
| Discovery date | September 15, 1857 |
| Designations | |
| (47) Aglaja | |
| Pronunciation | /əˈɡleɪ.ə/[1] |
Named after | Aglaea |
| Aglaia[2] | |
| Main belt | |
| Adjectives | Aglajan |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
| Aphelion | 488.740 Gm (3.267AU) |
| Perihelion | 372.222 Gm (2.488 AU) |
| 430.481 Gm (2.878 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.135 |
| 1,782.960 d (4.88 a) | |
| 225.007° | |
| Inclination | 4.985° |
| 3.244° | |
| 314.589° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 141.90 ± 8.72 km[4] |
| Mass | (3.25±1.68)×1018 kg[4] |
Meandensity | 2.17 ± 1.19 g/cm3[4] |
| 13.175[5] h | |
| 0.080[6] | |
| C(Tholen) B(SMASSII)[7] | |
| 7.84 | |
47 Aglaja/əˈɡleɪ.ə/ is a large, darkmain beltasteroid. It was discovered byRobert Luther on 15 September 1857 fromDüsseldorf.[8] The name was chosen by the Philosophical Faculty of theUniversity of Bonn and refers toAglaea, one of theCharites inGreek mythology.[9] It was renderedAglaia in English sources into the early 20th century, as 'i' and 'j' are equivalent in Latin names and in the Latin rendering of Greek names.[2]
Based upon its spectrum, 47 Aglaja is listed as aC-type asteroid under theTholen classification taxonomy, indicating acarbonaceous composition. TheSMASS classification system rates it as a rareB-type asteroid. There is a broadabsorption feature at 1 μm that is associated with the presence ofmagnetite and is what gives the asteroid its blue tint.[7]
On 16 September 1984, the star SAO 146599 wasocculted by 47 Aglaja. This event was observed from 13 sites in the continental United States, allowing a cross-sectional profile to be determined. Based upon this study, the asteroid has a diameter of 136.4 ± 1.2 km. The geometric albedo calculated at the time of the occultation was 0.071 ± 0.002.[10]
2012photometric observations of this asteroid at the Organ Mesa Observatory inLas Cruces, New Mexico gave alight curve with a period of 13.175 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.09 ± 0.01 inmagnitude. This result is in agreement with previous studies.[5]
