_Vinifera.png) Modelled shape ofVinifera from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | F. Kaiser |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 26 August 1913 |
| Designations | |
| (759) Vinifera | |
| Pronunciation | /vaɪˈnɪfərə/[2] |
Named after | Vitis vinifera (common grape vine)[3] |
| A913 QC · 1913 SJ | |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 106.44yr (38,879 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.1565AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0806 AU |
| 2.6185 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2054 |
| 4.24 yr (1,548 d) | |
| 79.523° | |
| 0° 13m 57.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 19.905° |
| 318.35° | |
| 0.9245° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 59.0 km × 29.3 km[6] |
| 14.229±0.003 h[11] | |
| SMASS =X[4] | |
759 Vinifera (prov. designation:A913 QCor1913 SJ) is a largebackground asteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 26 August 1913, by German astronomerFranz Kaiser at theHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany.[1] The darkX-type asteroid has arotation period of 14.2 hours and a heavily elongated shape. It was named after the plant speciesvitis vinifera, also known as the common grape vine.[3]
Vinifera is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population when applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements.[5][6] It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.1–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,548 days;semi-major axis of 2.62 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.21 and aninclination of 20° with respect to theecliptic.[4] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation byFranz Kaiser at theHeidelberg Observatory on 26 August 1913.[1]
Thisminor planet was named after the plantvitis vinifera, the common grape vine, to honor the discoverer's ancestors who werewinemakers. Thenaming was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 76).[3]
In the Bus–BinzelSMASS classification,Vinifera is anX-type asteroid.[4][6]
In September 2002, a rotationallightcurve ofVinifera was obtained fromphotometric observations by Maurice Clark at theGoodsell Observatory (741) in Minnesota. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of14.229±0.003 hours with a brightness variation of0.36±0.02magnitude (U=3).[11] Other observation by Jean-Gabriel Bosch, Jacques Michelet andRené Roy (2002), Brian Uzpen and Steven Kipp (2002), as well as René Roy and Eric Barbotin (2019), gave nearly identical periods of14.212±0.001,14.234±0.002 and14.211±0.003 hours with an amplitude of0.40±0.01,0.40±0.02 and0.36±0.02 magnitude, respectively (U=3/3/3).[12][13]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE),Vinifera measures (45.11±2.6), (46.48±0.80) and (52.926±0.199) kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of (0.0548±0.007), (0.052±0.002) and (0.040±0.012), respectively.[7][8][9][10]
Alternativemean diameter measurements published by the WISE team include (39.68±0.27 km), (54.967±20.56 km), (55.78±12.09 km) and (58.944±2.130 km) with corresponding albedos of (0.036±0.009), (0.0331±0.0356), (0.03±0.01) and (0.0311±0.0052).[6][14] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0500 and a diameter of 45.07 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 10.6.[14]
On 13 January 2002, anasteroid occultation ofVinifera gave a best-fit ellipse dimension of (59.0 km × 29.3 km), with a quality rating of 2. Lower rated measurements on 3 October 2011 and on 20 November 2015, gave an ellipse dimension of (53.0 km × 53.0 km) and (47.0 km × 47.0 km), respectively. These timed observations are taken when the asteroid passes in front of a distant star.[6]
