| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 21 August 1949 |
| Designations | |
| (7449) Döllen | |
Named after | Wilhelm Döllen[1] (German astronomer) |
| 1949 QL · 1949 QZ 1969 TV3 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (inner) Flora[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 68.68yr (25,085 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.6599AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7865 AU |
| 2.2232 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1964 |
| 3.31 yr (1,211 d) | |
| 230.21° | |
| 0° 17m 50.28s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.2648° |
| 335.74° | |
| 26.045° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 3.389±0.151 km[5][6] 3.74 km(calculated)[3] | |
| 10±2.0 h[7] | |
| 0.24(assumed)[3] 0.465±0.064[5][6] | |
| S (Flora family)[3] | |
| 13.8[6] 14.3[2][3] | |
7449 Döllen, provisional designation1949 QL, is a stony Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 21 August 1949, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth at theHeidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.[1] The likelyS-type asteroid has arotation period of 10 hours.[3] It was named after German astronomerWilhelm Döllen.[1]
Döllen is a member of theFlora family (402),[4] a giantasteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[8]
It orbits the Sun in theinner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.8–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,211 days;semi-major axis of 2.22 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.20 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins atLowell Observatory in Flagstaff, the night prior to its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.[1]
Döllen is an assumedS-type asteroid,[3] which corresponds to the overallspectral type for Florian asteroids.[8]: 23
In September 2012, a rotationallightcurve ofDöllen was obtained fromphotometric observations by French amateur astronomerRené Roy. Lightcurve analysis gave a tentativerotation period of 10 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.10magnitude (U=2-).[3][7]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Döllen measures 3.389 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.465,[5][6] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, theparent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 3.74 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 14.3.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after German astronomerWilhelm Döllen (1820–1897), for his discussion on errors of heliometer observations. Döllen was an assistant ofFriedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve at theDorpat Observatory (Tartu Observatory) in Estonia. He also worked on geodetic problems at thePulkovo Observatory near Saint Petersburg, Russia.[1] The official naming citation was suggested byLutz Schmadel and published by theMinor Planet Center on 6 August 2009 (M.P.C. 66724).[9]