Astronomy:51 Nemausa

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Short description: Main-belt asteroid
51 Nemausa
51 Nemausa VLT (2021), deconvolved.pdf
Discovery
Discovered byJ. Laurent
Discovery siteNîmes
Discovery dateJanuary 22, 1858
Designations
(51) Nemausa
Pronunciation/nɛˈmɔːsə/[1]
Named afterNemausus
Minor planet categoryMain belt
AdjectivesNemausian /nɛˈmɔːsiən/
Orbital characteristics
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.523 AU (377.381 Gm)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.208 AU (330.360 Gm)
2.365 AU (353.871 Gm)
Eccentricity0.066
Orbital period3.64 a (1328.853 d)
Mean anomaly316.668°
Inclination9.972°
Longitude of ascending node176.168°
2.820°
Physical characteristics
Dimensionsc/a = 0.77±0.04[2]
170×136 km[3]
Mean diameter150±3 km[2]
Mass(3.9±1.6)×1018 kg[2]
(2.48±0.86)×1018 kg[4]
Mean density2.2±0.9 g/cm3[2]
1.43±0.50 g/cm3[4]
Geometric albedo0.09 (calculated)[2]
0.093[5]
G
Absolute magnitude (H)7.35


Nemausa (minor planet designation: 51 Nemausa) is a large main-belt asteroid that was discovered on January 22, 1858, by Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent. Laurent made the discovery from the private observatory of Benjamin Valz in Nîmes, France . The house, at 32 rue Nationale in Nîmes, has a plaque commemorating the discovery. With Laurent's permission, Valz named the asteroid after the Celtic god Nemausus, the patron god and namesake of Nîmes during Roman times.[6]

Based upon its spectrum, this is listed as a C-type asteroid in the Tholen classification taxonomy, and as a Cgh by Bus and Binzel (2002). This indicates a composition similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Absorption features in the spectrum indicate the presence of phyllosilicates.[7] It may have a water content of about 14%.[8]

The first stellar occultation was observed on August 17, 1979, from the Gissar and Alma-Ata observatories produced two chords which were used to estimate a diameter of 150 km for the asteroid.[9] This is close to the present-day estimate of 147.9 km. Since then 51 Nemausa has been observed 20 times[10] in stellar occultation.

Light curve inversion model DAMIT 1065 is a good match to a seven-chord occultation observed on 3 September 2016, from which an equivalent Volume mean diameter of 146.4 km, and an equivalent Surface mean diameter of 150.3 km was obtained.

Lightcurve data suggests that it may have a small moon.[11] Nemausa has been studied by radar.[12]

See also

References

  1. John Craig (1869) The Universal English Dictionary
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 P. Vernazza et al. (2021) VLT/SPHERE imaging survey of the largest main-belt asteroids: Final results and synthesis. Astronomy & Astrophysics 54, A56
  3. "Diameters". Astronomical Applications Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AsAtest/SecG/Diameters.txt. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science 73: pp. 98–118, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009, Bibcode2012P&SS...73...98C.  See Table 1.
  5. Asteroid Data Sets
  6. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 20. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=KWrB1jPCa8AC&pg=PA20. 
  7. Reynolds, C. M. et al. (March 2009), "Compositional Study of 51 Nemausa: A Possible Carbonaceous Chondrite-like Asteroid", 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, (Lunar and Planetary Science XL), held March 23–27, 2009 in The Woodlands, Texas 73, Bibcode2009LPI....40.1285R. 
  8. A. S. Rivkin (2002). "CALCULATED WATER CONCENTRATIONS ON C CLASS ASTEROIDS" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Institute. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2002/pdf/1414.pdf. 
  9.  
  10. "Asteroid Data Sets". https://sbn.psi.edu/pds/resource/occ.html. 
  11. Other reports of asteroid/TNO companions
  12. "Radar-Detected Asteroids and Comets". NASA/JPL Asteroid Radar Research. http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/. 

External links