2732 Witt

2732 Witt
Discovery [1]
Discovered by M. F. Wolf
Discovery site Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date 19 March 1926
Designations
MPC designation (2732) Witt
Named after
 Carl Gustav Witt
(German astronomer)
1926 FG · 1935 DF
1965 UP1 · 1969 RD
1978 PQ1 · 1979 YL6
main-belt [1][2] · (middle)
Witt [3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 92.02 yr (33,612 d)
Aphelion 2.8250 AU
Perihelion 2.6961 AU
2.7606 AU
Eccentricity 0.0234
4.59 yr (1,675 d)
129.05°
0° 12m 53.64s / day
Inclination 6.4925°
145.08°
276.05°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
 11.001±0.291 km[4]
0.305±0.022[4]
SMASS = A [2]
11.8[2]

    2732 Witt, provisional designation 1926 FG, is a bright asteroid and namesake of the Witt family located in the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers (7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 19 March 1926, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in Heidelberg, Germany. The unusual A-type asteroid was named after astronomer Carl Gustav Witt.[1][2]

    Orbit and classification

    Witt the parent body and namesake of the Witt family (535),[3] a large family of stony asteroids with more than 1,600 known members.[5]

    It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.7–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,675 days; semi-major axis of 2.76 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.02 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins at Heidelberg in April 1926, two week after its official discovery observation.[1]

    Physical characteristics

    In the SMASS classification, Witt is an uncommon A-type asteroid,[2] while the overall spectral type for members of the Witt family is that of an S-type.[5]:23

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Witt measures 11.001 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.305.[4]

    Rotation period

    As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Witt has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named by Brian G. Marsden after Carl Gustav Witt (1866–1946), a German astronomer at the Berlin Observatory and a discoverer of minor planets himself, best known for the discovery of the near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 September 1983 (M.P.C. 8153).[6]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "2732 Witt (1926 FG)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2732 Witt (1926 FG)" (2018-03-27 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    3. 1 2 "Small Bodies Data Ferret". Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    4. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    5. 1 2 Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families" (PDF). Asteroids IV: 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    6. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 April 2018.

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