146 Lucina

146 Lucina is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Alphonse Borrelly on June 8, 1875, and named after Lucina, the Roman goddess of childbirth. It is large, dark and has a carbonaceous composition. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration.^[7]

146 Lucina

A three-dimensional model of 146 Lucina based on its light curve.
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Alphonse Borrelly
Discovery date	8 June 1875
Designations
MPC designation	(146) Lucina
Pronunciation	/luːˈsaɪnə/[2] or as Latin Lūcīna[3]
Alternative designations	A875 LC; 1950 CY
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics[4][5]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	130.35 yr (47610 d)
Aphelion	2.89945 AU (433.752 Gm)
Perihelion	2.53641 AU (379.442 Gm)
Semi-major axis	2.71793 AU (406.597 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.066786
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.48 yr (1636.6 d)
Average orbital speed	18.04 km/s
Mean anomaly	198.102°
Mean motion	0° 13m 11.863s / day
Inclination	13.0947°
Longitude of ascending node	83.9692°
Argument of perihelion	146.982°
Earth MOID	1.53233 AU (229.233 Gm)
Jupiter MOID	2.14062 AU (320.232 Gm)
TJupiter	3.319
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	132.21±2.4 km[5] 131.893 km[6]
Mass	2.4×1018 kg
Mean density	2.0 g/cm3
Equatorial surface gravity	0.0369 m/s²
Equatorial escape velocity	0.0699 km/s
Synodic rotation period	18.557 h (0.7732 d)
Geometric albedo	0.0531±0.002[5] 0.0496 ± 0.0107[6]
Temperature	~169 K
Spectral type	C[6] (Tholen)
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.20,[5] 8.277[6]

Photometric observations of this asteroid made during 1979 and 1981 gave a light curve with a period of 18.54 hours.^[8]

Two stellar occultations by Lucina have been observed so far, in 1982 and 1989. During the first event, a possible small satellite with an estimated 5.7 km diameter was detected at a distance of 1,600 km from 146 Lucina.^[9] A 1992 search using a CCD failed to discover a satellite larger than 0.6 km, although it may have been obscured by occultation mask.^[10] Further evidence for a satellite emerged in 2003, this time based on astrometric measurements.^[11]

References

1. "Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets". Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2004.
2. Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
3. Lucina
4. "The Asteroid Orbital Elements Database". astorb. Lowell Observatory.
5. Yeomans, Donald K., "146 Lucina", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 12 May 2016.
6. Pravec, P.; et al. (May 2012), "Absolute Magnitudes of Asteroids and a Revision of Asteroid Albedo Estimates from WISE Thermal Observations", Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2012, Proceedings of the conference held May 16–20, 2012 in Niigata, Japan, vol. 1667, no. 1667, p. 6089, Bibcode:2012LPICo1667.6089P. See Table 4.
7. Fornasier, S.; et al. (February 1999), "Spectroscopic comparison of aqueous altered asteroids with CM2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorites", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement, 135: 65−73, Bibcode:1999A&AS..135...65F, doi:10.1051/aas:1999161.
8. Schober, H. J. (July 1983), "The large C-type asteroids 146 Lucina and 410 Chloris, and the small S-type asteroids 152 Atala and 631 Philippina - Rotation periods and lightcurves", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, 53: 71–75, Bibcode:1983A&AS...53...71S.
9. Arlot, J. E.; et al. (February 1985), "A possible satellite of (146) Lucina", Icarus, 61 (2): 224–231, Bibcode:1985Icar...61..224A, doi:10.1016/0019-1035(85)90104-6.
10. Stern, S. Alan; Barker, Edwin S. (December 1992), "A CCD search for distant satellites of asteroids 3 Juno and 146 Lucina", In Lunar and Planetary Inst., Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 1991, pp. 577–581, Bibcode:1992acm..proc..577S.
11. Kikwaya, J.-B.; et al. (March 2003), "Does 146 Lucina Have a Satellite? An Astrometric Approach", 34th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 17–21, 2003, League City, Texas, abstract no.1214, p. 1214, Bibcode:2003LPI....34.1214K.

External links

• 146 Lucina at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 146 Lucina at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters