1513 Mátra, provisional designation 1940 EB, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 March 1940, by Hungarian astronomer György Kulin at Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary.[8] It was later named after the Mátra mountain range.[2]

1513 Mátra
Discovery[1]
Discovered byG. Kulin
Discovery siteKonkoly Obs.
Discovery date10 March 1940
Designations
(1513) Matra
Named after
Mátra (mountain range)[2]
1940 EB · 1940 EO
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc66.67 yr (24,351 days)
Aphelion2.4085 AU
Perihelion1.9763 AU
2.1924 AU
Eccentricity0.0986
3.25 yr (1,186 days)
324.55°
0° 18m 12.96s / day
Inclination3.9773°
136.22°
27.140°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.96±0.70 km[4]
5.19±0.92 km[5]
5.85 km (calculated)[3]
6.603±0.271 km[6]
24 h[7]
0.189±0.024[6]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
0.31±0.19[5]
0.34±0.13[4]
S[3]
13.33[1][3][5][6] · 13.43[4]

Orbit and classification

edit

Mátra is a member of the Flora family, a large group of stony S-type asteroids in the inner main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.4 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,186 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

One day prior to Mátra's official discovery observation at Konkoly, a precovery was taken at Nice Observatory. However, the body's observation arc begins 10 years later in 1950, when it was observed at the La Plata Observatory in Argentina.[8]

Physical characteristics

edit

Rotation period

edit

American astronomer Richard P. Binzel obtained a rotational light-curve of Mátra from photometric observation in the 1980s. It gave a tentative rotation period of 24 hours with a brightness variation of 0.1 magnitude (U=1).[7] As of 2017, a secure period still has yet to be determined.[3]

Diameter and albedo

edit

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Mátra measures between 4.96 and 6.60 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.189 and 0.34.[4][5][6]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from the family's largest body and namesake, the asteroid 8 Flora – and calculates a diameter of 5.85 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.33.[3]

Naming

edit

This minor planet was named after the Mátra mountain range in northern Hungary, where the outstation of the discovering Konkoly Observatory is located.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 February 1980 (M.P.C. 5182).[9]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1513 Matra (1940 EB)" (2017-02-14 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1513) Mátra". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1513) Mátra. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 120. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1514. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "LCDB Data for (1513) Mátra". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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 4 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d 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 4 January 2017.
  7. ^ a b Binzel, R. P.; Mulholland, J. D. (December 1983). "A photoelectric lightcurve survey of small main belt asteroids". Icarus. 56 (3): 519–533. Bibcode:1983Icar...56..519B. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(83)90170-7. ISSN 0019-1035. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  8. ^ a b "1513 Matra (1940 EB)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  9. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
edit