2368 Beltrovata

2368 Beltrovata, provisional designation 1977 RA, is an eccentric stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 2.7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 September 1977, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.^[3] The asteroid was named for Betty Tendering, a friend of author Gottfried Keller.^[2]

2368 Beltrovata

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	P. Wild
Discovery site	Zimmerwald Obs.
Discovery date	4 September 1977
Designations
MPC designation	(2368) Beltrovata
Named after	Betty Tendering (friend of Gottfried Keller)[2]
Alternative designations	1977 RA
Minor planet category	NEO · Amor [1][3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	38.65 yr (14,117 days)
Aphelion	2.9751 AU
Perihelion	1.2356 AU
Semi-major axis	2.1054 AU
Eccentricity	0.4131
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.05 yr (1,116 days)
Mean anomaly	39.633°
Mean motion	0° 19m 21.36s / day
Inclination	5.2222°
Longitude of ascending node	287.34°
Argument of perihelion	43.081°
Earth MOID	0.2334 AU · 90.9 LD
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	2.3 km[1] 2.70 km (calculated)[4] 3.003±0.493 km[5]
Synodic rotation period	5.9 h[6][7]
Geometric albedo	0.161±0.081[5] 0.20 (assumed)[4] 0.27[1]
Spectral type	Tholen = SQ [1] · S [4] B–V = 0.830[1] U–B = 0.520[1]
Absolute magnitude (H)	15.21[1][4][5] · 15.33±0.40[8]

Orbit and classification

Beltrovata orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.2–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 1 month (1,116 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.41 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

As an Amor asteroid, it approaches the orbit of Earth from the outside but does not cross it. It has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.2334 AU (34,900,000 km), which corresponds to 90.9 lunar distances.^[1] The asteroid's observation arc begins with its official discovering observation at Zimmerwald.^[3]

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen classification Beltrovata is a SQ-type asteroid, an intermediate between the common S-type and Q-type asteroids.^[1]

Rotation period

A first rotational lightcurve of Beltrovata was obtained from photoelectric observations made by U.S. astronomers Edward Bowell and Schelte Bus in the 1970s (IAUC 3111), and gave a rotation period of 5.9 hours with a brightness variation of 0.84 magnitude (U=n.a.).^[7] In 2000, the Near-Earth Objects Follow-up Program published an identical period but with a higher amplitude of 1.05 magnitude.(U=2).^[6]

Diameter and albedo

According to the space-based survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 3.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.16,^[5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.7 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 15.21.^[4]

Naming

This minor planet is named "Beltrovata", which is the name by whom the Swiss author Gottfried Keller from Zürich called his friend Betty Tendering. She served as role model for the character of "Dortchen Schönfund" in Keller's novel Green Henry.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 August 1981 (M.P.C. 6209).^[9]