1644 Rafita

1644 Rafita
Discovery [1]
Discovered by R. Carrasco
Discovery site Madrid Obs.
Discovery date 16 December 1935
Designations
MPC designation (1644) Rafita
Named after
 Rafael Carrasco
(discoverer's son)[2]
1935 YA · 1939 XA
1941 JB · 1949 JC
1951 VF · 1955 TS
1957 GD · 1959 UD
A906 RB · A916 BA
main-belt · (middle) [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 110.53 yr (40,371 days)
Aphelion 2.9426 AU
Perihelion 2.1539 AU
2.5483 AU
Eccentricity 0.1548
4.07 yr (1,486 days)
13.784°
0° 14m 32.28s / day
Inclination 7.0193°
270.90°
197.05°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 13.958±0.157 km[4]
15.405±0.072 km[5]
15.48 km (taken)[3]
15.482 km[6]
17.69±1.08 km[7]
5.100±0.002 h[8]
6.800±0.004 h[9]
0.106±0.014[7]
0.1329[6]
0.1403±0.0148[5]
0.164±0.028[4]
Tholen = S [1] · S [3]
B–V = 0.867[1]
U–B = 0.404[1]
11.82[1][5][7] · 11.82±0.21[10] · 11.86±0.02[3][6][8]

    1644 Rafita, provisional designation 1935 YA, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 December 1935, by Spanish astronomer Rafael Carrasco Garrorena at the Royal Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid in Spain, and named in memory of the discoverer's son.[2][11]

    Orbit and classification

    Rafita asteroid orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,486 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Rafita was first observed as A906 RB at Heidelberg Observatory in 1906, extending the body's observation arc by 29 years prior to its official discovery observation.[11]

    Lightcurves

    Rafita's first rotational lightcurve was obtained by American astronomer Alan Harris of JPL in January 1981. It gave a rotation period of 5.100 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31 magnitude (U=2).[8] Photometric observations by French amateur astronomer Laurent Bernasconi in December 2004, gave a period of 6.800 hours and an amplitude of 0.13 magnitude (U=2).[9]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Rafita measures between 13.96 and 17.69 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.106 and 0.164.[4][5][7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with Petr Pravec's revised WISE-results, that is an albedo of 0.1329 and a diameter of 15.482 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 11.86.[3][6]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named by the discoverer in honor of his late son, Rafael Carrasco.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center before November 1977 (M.P.C. 2277).[12]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1644 Rafita (1935 YA)" (2017-03-24 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1644) Rafita. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 130. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (1644) Rafita". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. arXiv:1406.6645 Freely accessible. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    5. 1 2 3 4 Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. arXiv:1109.6407 Freely accessible. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    6. 1 2 3 4 Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    7. 1 2 3 4 Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey" (PDF). Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    8. 1 2 3 Harris, A. W.; Young, J. W. (October 1989). "Asteroid lightcurve observations from 1979-1981". Icarus: 314–364. Bibcode:1989Icar...81..314H. ISSN 0019-1035. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(89)90056-0. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    9. 1 2 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1644) Rafita". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    10. ↑ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. arXiv:1506.00762 Freely accessible. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    11. 1 2 "1644 Rafita (1935 YA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
    12. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
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