1652 Hergé

Orbit and classification

Hergé is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest families of stony asteroids. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,234 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first identified as at Heidelberg Observatory in 1933, extending the body's observation arc by 20 years prior to its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

Hergé has been characterized as a common S-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey.

Rotation period

Astronomer Petr Pravec obtained a rotational lightcurve of Hergé from photometric observations taken at Ondřejov Observatory in September 2014. It gave a rotation period of 16.36 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.42 magnitude ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Hergé measures between 8.68 and 8.95 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.116 and 0.308. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 9.41 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.54.

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, better known under his pseudonym Hergé. He is considered to be the father of the fictional Adventures of Tintin, one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, and creator of its hero, Tintin, in 1929. The asteroid 1683 Castafiore was also named after the comic-strip character Bianca Castafiore from the series. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6831).

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