| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf L. Carnera |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 21 May 1901 |
| Designations | |
| (480) Hansa | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhænsə/ |
Named after | Hanseatic League[2] (medieval trade association) |
| 1901 GL · A905 JA A911 UJ | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (middle)[4] Hansa[5][6] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 116.44yr (42,528 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.7656AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5213 AU |
| 2.6435 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0462 |
| 4.30 yr (1,570 d) | |
| 222.78° | |
| 0° 13m 45.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 21.307° |
| 237.18° | |
| 214.53° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 55.94±0.58 km[7] 56.22±2.5 km[8] 65.67±20.89 km[9] | |
| 11.758 h[10] 16.12 h[11] 16.183±0.001 h[11] 16.1894±0.0005 h[12] 16.19 h[13][14] 16.22 h[15] | |
| 0.162±0.264[9] 0.2485±0.024[8] 0.254±0.007[7] | |
| Tholen =S[3][4] B–V = 0.854[3] U–B = 0.439[3] | |
| 8.38[3][4][7][8] 8.51[9] | |
480 Hansa, provisional designation1901 GL, is a stonyasteroid and the namesake of theHansa family located in the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 56 kilometers (35 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 21 May 1901, by astronomersMax Wolf andLuigi Carnera at theHeidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.[1] TheS-type asteroid has arotation period of 16.19 hours and possibly an elongated shape.[4] It was named after theHanseatic League, a medieval European trade association.[2]
Hansa is the namesake andparent body of the stonyHansa family (803),[5] a high-inclinationfamily with more than a thousand known members.Hansa and the asteroid925 Alphonsina are the two largest member of this family.[6][16]: 23
It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.5–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 4 months (1,570 days;semi-major axis of 2.64 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.05 (i.e. close to a perfectcircle) and aninclination of 21° with respect to theecliptic.[3] The body'sobservation arc begins at Heidelberg, the night after its official discovery observation in May 1901.[1]
In theTholen classification,Hansa is a common, stonyS-type asteroid.[3][4] The near infrared spectra suggests the surface has a primary component of low-Capyroxene with lower amounts ofolivine.[17]
Several rotationallightcurves ofHansa were obtained fromphotometric observations since the 1990s (U = 2/2−/2+/3).[10][11][15] Analysis of the two best-rated lightcurves gave arotation period of 16.19 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.58 and 0.44magnitude, respectively (U = 3/3).[13][14] A high brightness variation typically indicates an elongated shape.
A modeled lightcurve using photometric data from large collaboration network was published in 2016. It gave a concurring period of 16.1894 hours, as well as twospin axes at (352.0°, −18.0°) and (173.0°, −32.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ,β).[12]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Hansa measures between 55.94 and 65.67 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.162 and 0.254.[7][8][9]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by IRAS, that is an albedo of 0.2485 and a diameter of 56.22 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 8.38.[4]
Thisminor planet was named after theHanseatic League (German:Hansa; Hanse), a medieval confederation of merchantguilds and market towns in Northern Europe and theBaltic region. On the height of its expansion during the 14th and 15th century, the league included cities that are now located in Germany, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, the Netherlands and Russia. The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 52). The name was proposed by astronomerHeinrich Kreutz in 1906, who was an editor of the journalAstronomische Nachrichten based in the German city of Kiel,which was a member town of the Hanse League.[2]
