1306 Scythia, provisional designation 1930 OB, is a dark Ursula asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 72 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 July 1930, by Soviet astronomer Grigory Neujmin at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula.[16] The asteroid was named for the historic region of Scythia.

1306 Scythia
Discovery[1]
Discovered byG. Neujmin
Discovery siteSimeiz Obs.
Discovery date22 July 1930
Designations
(1306) Scythia
Pronunciation/ˈsɪθiə, ˈsɪðiə/[2]
Named after
Scythia (Historic region)[3]
1930 OB · 1933 DN
1935 OA · 1951 JB
1956 EM1 · 1957 KQ
main-belt · (outer)[4]
Ursula[5]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc86.94 yr (31,756 days)
Aphelion3.4451 AU
Perihelion2.8533 AU
3.1492 AU
Eccentricity0.0940
5.59 yr (2,041 days)
142.14°
0° 10m 35.04s / day
Inclination14.935°
274.24°
139.44°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions66.780±0.710 km[6]
67.14±4.4 km[7]
72.95±20.42 km[8]
73.53±20.87 km[9]
77.708±1.662 km[10]
83.65±1.41 km[11]
7.525±0.001 h[12]
15.05±0.01 h[13]
0.034±0.001[11]
0.035±0.003[14]
0.0382±0.0057[10]
0.05±0.03[9]
0.05±0.04[8]
0.0512±0.007[7]
0.052±0.006[6]
Tholen = S[1][4]
B–V = 0.853[1]
U–B = 0.398[1]
9.51±0.24[15] · 9.64[8] · 9.71[1][4][6][7][9][10][11]

Orbit and classification

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Scythia is a member of the Ursula family (631),[5] a mid-sized asteroid family in the outer main-belt.[17]: 23  It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.9–3.4 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,041 days; semi-major axis of 3.15 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Simeiz in July 1930.[16]

Physical characteristics

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In the Tholen classification, Scythia is a stony S-type asteroid,[1][4] unlike the overall spectral type of the Ursula family which is that of a C- and X-type.[17]: 23 

Rotation period

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In September 2003, a rotational lightcurve of Scythia was obtained from photometric observations by Robert Stephens at the Santana Observatory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 15.05 hours with a brightness variation of 0.15 magnitude (U=2).[13] In August 2008, Pierre Antonini measured a better period solution of 7.525 hours (or half the period) and an amplitude of 0.25 magnitude (U=3).[12]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Scythia measures between 66.780 and 83.65 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo between 0.034 and 0.052.[6][7][8][9][10][11][14]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by IRAS, that is, an albedo of 0.0512 and a diameter of 67.14 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.71.[4]

Naming

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This minor planet was named after the ancient region of Scythia, located east of the Black Sea. The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 119).[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1306 Scythia (1930 OB)" (2017-07-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Scythian". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1306) Scythia". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 107. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1307. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  4. ^ a b c d e "LCDB Data for (1306) Scythia". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Asteroid 1306 Scythia – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System. 12: IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T.; et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 12. arXiv:1606.08923. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...63N. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63.
  9. ^ a b c d Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
  11. ^ a b c d 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". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
  12. ^ a b Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1306) Scythia". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  13. ^ a b Stephens, Robert D. (June 2004). "Photometry of 804 Hispania, 899 Jokaste, 1306 Scythia, and 2074 Shoemaker". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 31 (2): 40–41. Bibcode:2004MPBu...31...40S. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  14. ^ a b 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. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121.
  15. ^ 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. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  16. ^ a b "1306 Scythia (1930 OB)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  17. ^ a b Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
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