372 Palma

372 Palma is one of the largest main-belt asteroids. It is a B-type asteroid.

372 Palma

A three-dimensional model of 372 Palma based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered by	Auguste Charlois
Discovery date	19 August 1893
Designations
MPC designation	(372) Palma
Pronunciation	/ˈpælmə/[1]
Named after	Palma
Alternative designations	1893 AH
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	122.54 yr (44757 d)
Aphelion	3.9693 AU (593.80 Gm)
Perihelion	2.33325 AU (349.049 Gm)
Semi-major axis	3.15125 AU (471.420 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.25958
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.59 yr (2043.3 d)
Mean anomaly	275.769°
Mean motion	0° 10m 34.284s / day
Inclination	23.828°
Longitude of ascending node	327.37°
Argument of perihelion	115.582°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	173.6±2.8 km[2] 191.12 ± 2.68 km[3]
Mass	(5.15 ± 0.64) × 1018 kg[3]
Mean density	1.40 ± 0.18 g/cm3[3]
Synodic rotation period	8.567 h (0.3570 d)[2]
Geometric albedo	0.0655±0.002[2]
Spectral type	BFC/B[2]
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.5[2]

It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on August 19, 1893, in Nice. It is thought to be named after the capital city of Majorca, an island in the Balearics (Spain), which is located south of France. It is one of seven of Charlois's discoveries that were expressly named by the Astromomisches Rechen-Institut (Astronomical Calculation Institute).^[4]

Occultations

Since 2000, it has been observed 14 times in an asteroid occultation event, a number of which produced multiple chords revealing the asteroid's size and shape. On September 13, 2018, it was revealed to be 120 miles long (193 kilometers long). It is in a fixed orbit around the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.^[5]

Plot of an occultation of the star HIP 41975 observed on January 26, 2007, by a group of American home-based and mobile citizen astronomers

See also

• List of exceptional asteroids