2513 Baetslé, provisional designation 1950 SH, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter.
Discovery [1] | |
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Discovered by | S. Arend |
Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
Discovery date | 19 September 1950 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (2513) Baetslé |
Named after | Paul-Louis Baetslé[2] |
Alternative designations | 1950 SH · 1936 PC 1943 RA · 1943 RC 1950 TK · 1950 TW2 1964 VO2 · 1971 UH3 1974 QV · 1981 QO |
Minor planet category | main-belt · Flora[3] |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 73.57 yr (26,870 days) |
Aphelion | 2.7004 AU |
Perihelion | 1.8713 AU |
Semi-major axis | 2.2859 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.1813 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 3.46 yr (1,262 days) |
Mean anomaly | 138.26° |
Inclination | 3.1618° |
Longitude of ascending node | 257.61° |
Argument of perihelion | 97.789° |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 5.013±0.080[4] 5.054±0.086 km[5] 16.67±1.8 km[6] 16.69 km (derived)[3] |
Synodic rotation period | 6.0792±0.0004 h[lower-alpha 1] |
Geometric albedo | 0.0278±0.007[6] 0.0333 (derived)[3] 0.221±0.021[4] 0.3032±0.0453[5] |
Spectral type | S [3] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.20[3] · 13.27±0.27[7] · 13.4[1][6][5] |
It was discovered on 19 September 1950, by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend at the Royal Observatory in Uccle, Belgium.[8] It was later named after astronomer Paul-Louis Baetslé.[2]
Baetslé is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of rather bright and stony asteroids, and orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,262 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Its orbit is almost coplanar. Its first used observation dates back to 1943, when it was identified as 1943 RA at Heidelberg Observatory, extending the body's observation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery observation.[8]
Baetslé takes 6.08 hours for a full a rotation around its axis.[lower-alpha 1] Two observations by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, showed an absolute magnitude of 13.40 and a low geometric albedo of 0.03.[3] While the size, rotational period and orbital data are commonly found among main-belt asteroids, the albedo was exceptionally low and suggested that the body's composition could be mostly carbonaceous.
However, subsequent observations by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer's NEOWISE mission gave a higher albedo of 0.22 and 0.30 and the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives a value of 0.33, assuming the body to be of a stony rather than of a carbonaceous composition.[3][5] This also concurs with the fact that Baetslé is a member of the Flora family of rather bright and stony asteroids.[3]
This minor planet was named in memory of Belgian astronomer Paul-Louis Baetslé (1909–1983), professor at the Brussels Royal Military School and a friend of Sylvain Arend.[2] The official naming citation was published on 20 December 1983 (M.P.C. 8404).[9]
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