517 Edith, provisional designation 1903 MH, is a carbonaceous background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 83 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 September 1903, by American astronomer Raymond Dugan at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany, who named it after his sister Edith Eveleth.[15]

517 Edith
Discovery [1]
Discovered byR. S. Dugan
Discovery siteHeidelberg Obs.
Discovery date22 September 1903
Designations
(517) Edith
Named after
Edith Eveleth
(discoverer's sister)[2]
1903 MH · 1953 VS
A905 BB · A909 XA
main-belt · (outer)[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc113.69 yr (41,525 days)
Aphelion3.7279 AU
Perihelion2.5889 AU
3.1584 AU
Eccentricity0.1803
5.61 yr (2,050 days)
114.65°
0° 10m 32.16s / day
Inclination3.1934°
274.40°
140.13°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions79.72±26.64 km[4]
80.11±20.71 km[5]
83.24 km (derived)[3]
83.35±1.27 km[6]
91.12±2.1 km[7]
111.890±0.587 km[8]
111.89±0.59 km[8]
4.328±0.001 h[9]
9.25±0.04 h[10]
9.274±0.001 h[11][a]
9.2747±0.0003 h[10]
9.41±0.07 h[10]
0.026±0.005[8]
0.0387±0.002[7]
0.0397 (derived)[3]
0.04±0.07[5]
0.047±0.002[6]
0.05±0.03[4]
Tholen = X[1] · C[12] · P[3]
B–V = 0.711 [1]
U–B = 0.327 [1]
9.35[4][6][7][8] · 9.41±0.32[13] · 9.52[3][5] · 9.52±0.01[9][14]

Orbit and classification

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Edith orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,050 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

The body's observation arc begins at Heidelberg, five days after its official discovery observation (first recorded observation at the MPC).[15]

Physical characteristics

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In the Tholen taxonomy, Edith is an X-type asteroid.[1] Due to its very low albedo, a more specific P-type is derived by the LCDB,[3] while a spectroscopic survey of Tholen X-type asteroids characterizes Edith as a C-type asteroid.[12]

Rotation period

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In October 2009, the best-rated rotational lightcurve of Edith was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomer Maurice Audejean at his Chinon Observatory (B92) in Chinon, France. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 9.2747 hours with a brightness variation of 0.16 magnitude (U=3), indicating that the body is rather spheroidal.[10]

Additional measurements of the asteroid's period were made by French amateur astronomers René Roy and Laurent Bernasconi, as well as by American astronomer Robert Koff at his Antelope Hills Observatory in Bennett, Colorado (H09) and by Alan W. Harris of the Earth and Planetary Physics Group at JPL in the 1980s (U=2/2/2/2).[9][10][11][a]

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, Edith measures between 79.72 and 111.89 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo between 0.026 and 0.05.[4][5][6][7][8]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0397 and a diameter of 83.24 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.52.[3]

Naming

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This minor planet was named by the discoverer after his sister Edith Eveleth (née Dugan). The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 55). Edith Eveleth also proposed and prepared the naming citation for Raymond Dugan's first discovery, 497 Iva.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Lightcurve plot of (517) , Robert Koff, at his Antelope Hills Observatory (H09). Summary figures at LCDB

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 517 Edith (1903 MH)" (2017-06-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(517) Edith". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (517) Edith. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 56. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_518. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "LCDB Data for (517) Edith". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  4. ^ 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. S2CID 9341381. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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)
  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 e 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. S2CID 46350317. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Harris, A. W.; Young, J. W.; Dockweiler, Thor; Gibson, J.; Poutanen, M.; Bowell, E. (January 1992). "Asteroid lightcurve observations from 1981". Icarus. 95 (1): 115–147.ResearchsupportedbyLowellObservatoryEndowmentandNASA. Bibcode:1992Icar...95..115H. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(92)90195-D. ISSN 0019-1035. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d e Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (517) Edith". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  11. ^ a b Koff, Robert A. (June 2005). "Lightcurve photometry of asteroids 212 Medea, 517 Edith, 3581 Alvarez 5682 Beresford, and 5817 Robertfrazer". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 32 (2): 32–34. Bibcode:2005MPBu...32...32K. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b Fornasier, S.; Clark, B. E.; Dotto, E. (July 2011). "Spectroscopic survey of X-type asteroids". Icarus. 214 (1): 131–146. arXiv:1105.3380. Bibcode:2011Icar..214..131F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.04.022. S2CID 118549118. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  13. ^ 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. S2CID 53493339. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  14. ^ 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 25 August 2017.
  15. ^ a b "517 Edith (1903 MH)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
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