| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | F. Kaiser |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 25 September 1913 |
| Designations | |
| (763) Cupido | |
| Pronunciation | /kjuːˈpaɪdoʊ/[2] |
Named after | Cupid (Latin: Cupīdō) (Roman god)[3] |
| A913 SE · 1933 TA 1958 AF · 1913 ST | |
| main-belt[1][4] · (inner) Flora[5][6] · background[7] | |
| Adjectives | Cupidinian/kjuːpɪˈdɪniən/[8] |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 106.59yr (38,932 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.6136AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8693 AU |
| 2.2415 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1660 |
| 3.36 yr (1,226 d) | |
| 279.59° | |
| 0° 17m 37.32s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.0828° |
| 289.82° | |
| 88.860° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 7.005±0.115 km[9][10] | |
| 151.5±0.1 h[11] | |
| 0.373±0.072[9][10] | |
| SL(SDSS-MOC)[12] | |
763 Cupido (prov. designation:A913 SEor1913 ST) is aFlora asteroid,tumbler andslow rotator from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 25 September 1913, by German astronomerFranz Kaiser at theHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany.[1] TheS/L-type asteroid has an exceptionally longrotation period of 151 hours. It was named by its Latin name afterCupid, the Roman god of erotic love, attraction and affection.[3]
When applying the synthetichierarchical clustering method (HCM) byNesvorný,[5] or the 1995 HCM-analysis byZappalà,[6]Cupido is a member of theFlora family (402), a giantasteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[14]: 23 However, according to another HCM-analysis byMilani andKnežević (AstDys), it is abackground asteroid as this analysis does not recognize the Floraasteroid clan.[7]Cupido orbits the Sun in theinner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,226 days;semi-major axis of 2.24 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.17 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[4] The body'sobservation arc begins atYerkes Observatory (754) in September 1933, or 20 years after to its official discovery observation byFranz Kaiser atHeidelberg Observatory in 1913.[1]
Thisminor planet was named "Cupido", the Latin name ofCupid, god of erotic love, attraction and affection inRoman mythology whose Greek counterpart isEros(also see asteroid433 Eros).Cupido was named due to its relative proximity to the Sun probably by Swedish astronomerBror Ansgar Asplind (1890–1954) who was honored by asteroid958 Asplinda. Thenaming was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 76).[3]
In theSDSS-based taxonomy,Cupido is an SL-type that transitions from the common, stonyS-type asteroids to the uncommonL-type asteroids.[12]
In October 2017, a rotationallightcurve ofCupido was obtained fromphotometric observations by American astronomerFrederick Pilcher in collaboration with Vladimir Benishek atBelgrade Observatory andDaniel A. Klinglesmith at Etscorn Observatory (719). Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of151.5±0.1 hours with a brightness variation of0.45±0.10magnitude (U=3-). The observations also showed that it is atumbling asteroid, which wobbles on its non-principal axis rotation.[11] During the same opposition,Tom Polakis at the Command Module Observatory (V02) also observed the asteroid and measured a period of151.1±0.1 hours and an amplitude of0.24±0.02 magnitude (U=2+).[15] The results supersede a tentative period determination of14.88 hours byRené Roy from 2005.[16]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE),Cupido measures (7.005±0.115) kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of (0.373±0.072).[9][10] Other publications by the WISE team give amean diameter of (7.38±1.57 km), (7.644±0.067 km) and (7.76±0.30 km) with a corresponding albedo of (0.33±0.14), (0.3037±0.0529) and (0.322±0.046), respectively.[17][13] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for aFlora asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 8.97 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.6.[13]
