| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 18 April 1915 |
| Designations | |
| (806) Gyldénia | |
Named after | Hugo Gyldén (astronomer)[2] |
| 1915 WX · 1950 LT | |
| main-belt · (outer)[1] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 101.57 yr (37,097 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.4506AU |
| Perihelion | 2.9678 AU |
| 3.2092 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0752 |
| 5.75yr (2,100 days) | |
| 280.53° | |
| 0° 10m 17.04s / day | |
| Inclination | 14.240° |
| 43.987° | |
| 119.50° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 62.63±1.3 km(IRAS:14)[3] 62.78 km(derived)[4] 67.79±0.89 km[5] 83.10±0.74 km[6] |
| 14.45±0.05h[7] 14.452±0.001 h[7] 16.846±0.007 h[8] 16.852±0.006 h[9] 16.8537±0.0094 h[10] | |
| 0.022±0.001[5] 0.023±0.004[6] 0.0259±0.001(IRAS:14)[3] 0.0373(derived)[4] | |
| C[4] | |
| 9.953±0.002(R)[10] · 10.10[6] · 10.2[1][4] · 10.55±0.22[11] · 10.6[3][5] | |
806 Gyldénia, provisional designation1915 WX, is a carbonaceousasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 63 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 April 1915, by German astronomerMax Wolf atHeidelberg Observatory in southern Germany.[12] The discovery observation was ignored for orbital determination, with the first used observation made atVienna Observatory on 1 May 2015, reducing the asteroid'sobservation arc by 2 weeks.[12]
The darkC-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.0–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,100 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 14° with respect to theecliptic.[1] Several photometriclight-curve analysis rendered arotation period of16.852±0.006 hours (best result) with a brightness variation of 0.18 inmagnitude (U=3).[9]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite,IRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, the asteroid's surface has a notably lowalbedo of less than 0.03, while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derived a somewhat higher value of 0.04.[3][5][6][4]
The minor planet was named in honor of the Fenno-Swedish astronomerHugo Gyldén (1841–1896), who was a director of theStockholm Observatory. He developed a new technique to calculate theperturbations of planets and comets. The lunar craterGyldén is also named after the astronomer (H 80)[2]
