449 Hamburga
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. Wolf, A. Schwassmann |
| Discovery date | October 31, 1899 |
| Designations | |
|
Named after
|
Hamburg |
| 1899 EU | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5) | |
| Aphelion | 447.271 Gm (2.99 AU) |
| Perihelion | 316.498 Gm (2.116 AU) |
| 381.884 Gm (2.553 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.171 |
| 1489.704 d (4.08 a) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
18.64 km/s |
| 197.752° | |
| Inclination | 3.09° |
| 86.045° | |
| 46.353° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 66.76 ± 4.82[2] km |
| Mass | (1.57 ± 1.40) × 1018[2] kg |
|
Spectral type
|
C |
| 9.79[3] | |
449 Hamburga is a large Main belt asteroid that was discovered by German astronomers Max Wolf and A. Schwassmann on October 31, 1899 in Heidelberg. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous material. It is named for the city of Hamburg in Germany.[4] The name was announced in 1901 during a festival held by the Mathematical Society of Hamburg.[4]
In the 1980s and 1990s, NASA considered a spacecraft mission to the asteroid, including a tie-in with McDonald's.[5] The mission plan called for a launch in 1995 and a flyby of Hamburga in early 1998.[6]
In August 1988 in the United States' city of Baltimore, a P. Weissman addressed the International Astronomical Union on a mission to this asteroid (449), a mission which also include a rendezvous with Comet Kopf.[7] See Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby for more on the mission to the comet. This mission can also be compared to Rosetta, which successfully flew by two minor planets and orbited a Comet during its approach to the Sun in the early 21st century.
P. Weissman later worked on the Rosetta mission[8]
It was predicted that 449 occulted the star HIP 1424 in July 2013.[9]
449 Hamburga was identified as one of three asteroids that were likely to be a parent body for chondrites along with 304 Olga and 335 Roberta.[10] All three asteroids were known to have low-albedo (not reflect as much light) and be close to "meteorite producing resonances".[10] Chrondrites are the most common type of meteor found on Earth, accounting for over 80% of all meteors.[11] They are named for the tiny spherical silicate particles that are found inside them (those particles are called chondrules).[11]
See also
- List of asteroids formerly targeted for spacecraft visitation
- Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby
- 723 Hammonia (also named for the city of Hamburg)
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. See Table 1.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 (449) Hamburga
- ↑ Mars rover Curiosity’s other mission: publicity machine - December 5, 2012
- ↑ Transactions of the International Astronomical Union: Proceedings of the ... edited by Derek McNally (Google Books link)]
- ↑ Transactions of the International Astronomical Union: Proceedings of the ... edited by Derek McNally (Google Books link)]
- ↑ Planetary Ices: People
- ↑ Asteroid Occultation Updates
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lunar and planetary science: abstracts of papers submitted to the ... Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Volume 27, Part 1 - Lunar and Planetary Institute, Jan 1, 1996
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 ASU - Chondrites
