1068 Nofretete

Not to be confused with 3199 Nefertiti.

1068 Nofretete

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	E. Delporte
Discovery site	Uccle Obs.
Discovery date	13 September 1926
Designations
MPC designation	(1068) Nofretete
Pronunciation	/nɒfrəˈtiːtə/[a]
Named after	Nefertiti[2] (Ancient Egyptian Queen)
Alternative designations	1926 RK · 1929 CV
Minor planet category	main-belt · (outer)[3] background[4]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	88.73 yr (32,409 days)
Aphelion	3.1868 AU
Perihelion	2.6274 AU
Semi-major axis	2.9071 AU
Eccentricity	0.0962
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.96 yr (1,810 days)
Mean anomaly	250.26°
Mean motion	0° 11^m 55.68^s / day
Inclination	5.4840°
Longitude of ascending node	318.69°
Argument of perihelion	267.47°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	21.346±0.106 km[5] 22.03 km (derived)[3] 23.186±0.116 km[6] 23.92±0.74 km[7] 26.73±0.45 km[8]
Synodic rotation period	6.15 h[9]
Geometric albedo	0.104±0.007[7] 0.142±0.025[8] 0.1832±0.0400[6] 0.20 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S[3][9] B–V = 0.850[1] U–B = 0.420[1]
Absolute magnitude (H)	10.60[8] · 10.65[3][6][9] · 10.7[1] · 10.84±0.47[10] · 11.20[7]

1068 Nofretete (/nɒfrəˈtiːtə/[a]), provisional designation 1926 RK, is a stony asteroid from the background population in the outer asteroid belt, approximately 23 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 September 1926, by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle.[11] The asteroid was named after the Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti by its German name "Nofretete".[2] The near-Earth asteroid 3199 Nefertiti is also named after her.

Orbit and classification

Nofretete is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[4] It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.6–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 12 months (1,810 days; semi-major axis of 2.91 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins at Uccle in September 1926, three nights after its official discovery observation.[11]

Physical characteristics

Nofretete has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid by American astronomer Richard Binzel.[9]

Rotation period

In May 1984, a rotational lightcurve of Nofretete was obtained from photometric observations by Richard Binzel which gave a rotation period of 6.15 hours with a low brightness amplitude of 0.04 magnitude, indicative for a nearly spheroidal shape (U=2).[9]

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, Nofretete measures between 21.346 and 26.73 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.104 and 0.1832.[5][6][7][8]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 22.03 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 10.65.[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named by German astronomer Gustav Stracke after the Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti (c.1370 – c.1330 BC) by its common German name "Nofretete".[a] She was the wife of pharaoh Akhenaten (a.k.a. Echnaton or Amenhotep IV), after whom the asteroid 4847 Amenhotep is named. The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 101). The near-Earth asteroid 3199 Nefertiti, discovered by American astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at Palomar, was also named after her.[2]

Notes

1. Pronunciation of "Nofretete" from Collins English Dictionary. The original naming in German is pronounced as nɔfʁəˈteːtə.

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1068 Nofretete (1926 RK)" (2017-10-30 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1068) Nofretete". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1068) Nofretete. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 91. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1069. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. "LCDB Data for (1068) Nofretete". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 7 December 2017.
4. "Asteroid 1068 Nofretete – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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)
8. 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 7 December 2017.
9. Binzel, R. P. (October 1987). "A photoelectric survey of 130 asteroids". Icarus. 72 (1): 135–208. Bibcode:1987Icar...72..135B. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(87)90125-4. ISSN 0019-1035. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
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. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
11. "1068 Nofretete (1926 RK)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 December 2017.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 1068 Nofretete at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 1068 Nofretete at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters