_Kunigunde.png) Modelled shape ofKunigunde from itslight curve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 September 1920 |
| Designations | |
| (936) Kunigunde | |
Named after | Name picked from the almanac Lahrer Hinkender Bote[2] |
| A920 RB · 1930 KD 1930 KR · 1931 TO2 1942 RD1 · 1984 BK7 A913 HA · A921 WD 1920 HN · 1913 HA | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (outer) Themis[4][5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 98.95yr (36,140 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.6843AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5802 AU |
| 3.1323 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1762 |
| 5.54 yr (2,025 d) | |
| 8.7542° | |
| 0° 10m 40.08s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.3660° |
| 62.161° | |
| 253.49° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 9.3650±0.0006 h[9][10] | |
| B(S3OS2)[11] | |
| 10.4[1][3] | |
936 Kunigunde (prov. designation:A920 RBor1920 HN) is a darkThemistian asteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 8 September 1920, by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth at theHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory.[1] The carbonaceousB-type asteroid has arotation period of 9.4 hours. It was named "Kunigunde", a common German female name unrelated to the discoverer's contemporaries, that was taken from the almanacLahrer Hinkender Bote.[2]
Kunigunde is a core member of theThemis family (602), when applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements. The very largefamily of carbonaceous asteroids is named after24 Themis.[4][5][12]: 23 Kunigunde orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (2,025 days;semi-major axis of 3.13 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.18 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[3] The asteroid was first observed asA913 HA (1913 HA) atSimeiz Observatory on 27 April 1913. The body'sobservation arc begins at Heidelberg with its official discovery observation on 8 September 1920.[1]
Thisminor planet was named "Kunigunde", after a female name picked from theLahrer Hinkender Bote, published inLahr, southern Germany.[2][13] AHinkender Bote (lit. "limping messenger") was a very popularalmanac, especially in theAlemannic-speaking region from the late 17th throughout the early 20th centuries. Thecalendar section containsfeast days, the dates of important fairs and astronomicalephemerides. For 3 March, the calendar gives "Kunigund" as the Germanname day analogue next toKunigunde andTitian, the protestant and catholic entries in thecalendar of saints, likely referring toCunigunde of Luxembourg andTitian of Brescia.[14]
As with 22 other asteroids—starting with913 Otila, and ending with1144 Oda—Reinmuth selected names from this calendar due to his many asteroid discoveries that he had trouble thinking of proper names. These names are not related to the discoverer's contemporaries.Lutz Schmadel, the author of theDictionary of Minor Planet Names learned about Reinmuth's source of inspiration from private communications with Dutch astronomerIngrid van Houten-Groeneveld, who worked as a young astronomer at Heidelberg.[2]
In both theTholen- andSMASS-liketaxonomy of theSmall Solar System Objects Spectroscopic Survey (S3OS2),Kunigunde is aB-type asteroid, a somewhat brighterspectral type than the commonC type typical for Themistian asteroids.[5][11]
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In March 2018, a rotationallight curve ofKunigunde was obtained fromphotometric observations by French amateur astronomerRené Roy. Light-curve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of9.3650±0.0006 hours with a brightness variation of0.34±0.01magnitude (U=3).[9] Richard Ditteon at theOakley Southern Sky Observatory (E09) determined a period of8.82±0.02 with an amplitude of0.30±0.05 magnitude (U=2).[15] Photometry by Angeli and Guimarães at observatories in Brazil and Argentina gave a similar period of8.80 hours (U=2).[10] In 2013, an international study modeled a light curve with asidereal period of 8.82653 hours and found twospin axes at (47.0°, 57.0°) and (234.0°, 50.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β) (U=n.a.).[16]
According to the survey carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite, the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Kunigunde measures (38.08±0.94), (39.56±1.2) and (43.227±1.035) kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of (0.124±0.007), (0.1129±0.007) and (0.065±0.014), respectively.[6][7][8]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0792 and a diameter of 39.29 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 10.4.[10] Further published mean-diameters and albedos by the WISE team include (28.81±9.81 km) and (36.39±10.33 km) with corresponding albedos of (0.10±0.07) and (0.07±0.07).[5][10] Anasteroid occultation on 21 November 2004, gave a best-fit ellipse dimension of 39.0 × 39.0 km.[5] These timed observations are taken when the asteroid passes in front of a distant star. However, the quality of the measurement is poorly rated.[5]
