1581 Abanderada

Orbit and classification

Abanderada is a Themistian asteroid that belongs to the Themis family (602), a very large family of carbonaceous asteroids, named after 24 Themis. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,049 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.

The asteroid was first identified as at Simeiz Observatory in May 1927. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery image taken at Lowell Observatory in September 1929, or almost 21 years prior to its official discovery observation at La Plata.

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen classification, the asteroid's spectral type is ambiguous. It is closest to a bright carbonaceous B-type and somewhat similar to the common C-type asteroids. Tholen has also flagged the asteroid's spectra as "unusual" (BCU).

Lightcurves

In March 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Abanderada was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomers Pierre Antonini. The lightcurve with a period of 19.2 hours was later retracted due to its poor quality (). As of 2017, the body's effective rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Abanderada measures between 29.508 and 31.74 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.06 and 0.093, while the Japanese Akari satellite found a diameter of 36.49 kilometers with an albedo of 0.061.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, that is, an albedo of 0.0523 and a diameter of 39.28 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 10.85.

Naming

This minor planet was named in after Eva Perón (1919–1952), wife of President Juan Perón (1895–1974) of Argentina. The name "Abanderada" may be translated from Spanish as "woman with a banner"—an appellation frequently used in reference to her as a crusader for social and political change.

The discoverer also named the asteroids 1569 Evita, 1582 Martir, 1588 Descamisada and 1589 Fanatica in tribute to Eva Perón. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center in January 1953 (M.P.C. 877).

References