|
Discovery[1]
|
|
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. P. Henry |
| Discovery site | discovery_site |
| Discovery date | 1875 |
|
Designations
|
|
| Named after | Atala |
| Minor planet category |
Main belt |
| Aphelion | 3.374 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.918 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.146 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.072 |
| Orbital period | 5.582 years |
|
Physical characteristics
|
|
| Dimensions | 71–122 km[3] |
| Sidereal rotation period |
5.28-6.25 hours |
| Albedo | 0.054 |
| Spectral type | D[4] |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 8.33 |
152 Atala is a very large, dark main belt asteroid. It is a type D asteroid, meaning that it is composed of carbon, organic rich silicates and possibly water ice. It was discovered by brothers Paul Henry and Prosper Henry on November 2, 1875, but the discovery was credited to Paul.
The asteroid is named for the eponymous heroine of the 1801 novella Atala by François-René de Chateaubriand.[5]
An occultation of a star by Atala was observed from Japan on March 11, 1994. Subsequent occultations have been observed as recently as 2006.
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
