218 Bianca

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218 Bianca
Discovery
Discovered by Johann Palisa
Discovery date September 4, 1880
Designations
Alternative names n/a
Minor planet
category
Main belt
Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5)
Aphelion 445.878 Gm (2.981 AU)
Perihelion 351.958 Gm (2.353 AU)
Semi-major axis 398.918 Gm (2.667 AU)
Eccentricity 0.118
Orbital period 1590.479 d (4.35 a)
Average orbital speed 18.24 km/s
Mean anomaly 301.767°
Inclination 15.231°
Longitude of ascending node 170.896°
Argument of perihelion 60.97°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 61.0 km
Mass unknown
Mean density unknown
Equatorial surface gravity unknown
Escape velocity unknown
Rotation period 6.337 h
Albedo 0.174
Temperature unknown
Spectral type S
Absolute magnitude 8.6

218 Bianca is a sizeable Main belt asteroid. It is an S-type asteroid.

It was discovered by Johann Palisa on September 4, 1880 in Pola and was named after the then-famous Austro-Hungarian opera singer Bianca Bianchi (real name Bertha Schwarz). The Vienna newspapers contained several published accounts of the circumstances surrounding the honor extended to the diva in Spring 1882. [1]

In the late 1990s, a network of astronomers worldwide gathered lightcurve data that was ultimately used to derive the spin states and shape models of 10 new asteroids, including (218) Bianca. [2][3]

Bianca is also a moon of planet Uranus.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Schmadel Lutz D. Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (fifth edition), Springer, 2003. ISBN-10: 3540002383.
  2. ^ Durech., J.; Kaasalainen, M., Marciniak, A.; et al., “Physical models of ten asteroids from an observers' collaboration network,” Astronomy and Astrophysics , Volume 465, Issue 1, April I 2007, pp. 331-337
  3. ^ Durech, J.; Kaasalainen, M.; Marciniak, A.; Allen, W. H. et al. “Asteroid brightness and geometry,” Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 465, Issue 1, April I 2007, pp. 331-337.