1216 Askania

Orbit and classification

Askania orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,219 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest families in the asteroid belt. Conversely, it is considered a background asteroid when applying the hierarchical clustering method to it proper orbital elements.

The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg in 1932. In July 1906, a first precovery was taken at the Lowell Observatory, and in April 1909, the asteroid was first identified at the discovering observatory as .

Naming

The minor planet was named after "Askania Werke AG", a manufacturer of optical and astronomical instruments in Berlin (also see Cinetheodolite). The company went on to develop the auto pilot of the V-1 bomb in the following years. The official naming citation was published by Paul Herget in The Names of the Minor Planets in 1955 (H 112).

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen classification, Askania is a common stony S-type asteroid.

Lightcurves

Lightcurve observations of Askania at the Menke Observatory in July 2006, show a well-defined periodicity of hours, during which time the brightness of the body varies by magnitude ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Askania measures between 7.21 and 10.533 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.064 and 0.15.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, an stony asteroid and largest member and namesake of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 5.44 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.49.

Notes

References

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