1737 Severny

Classification and orbit

Severny is a member of the Eos family. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.9–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,908 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic. First identified as at Turku, the asteroid's first used observation was made at Heidelberg Observatory in 1950, extending Severnys observation arc by 16 years prior to its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

Severny has been characterized as a common stony S-type asteroid.

Lightcurves

A rotational lightcurve of Severny was obtained by French amateur astronomer Laurent Bernasconi in March 2005. It gave a rotation period of 14.11 hours with a brightness variation of 0.14 magnitude ().

In September 2013, photometric observations in the R-band at the Palomar Transient Factory, California, gave a shorter period of 9.2481 hours with an amplitude of 0.17 magnitude ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Severny measures between 21.33 and 24.83 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.136 and 0.181.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for Eoan asteroids of 0.14 and calculates a diameter of 21.40 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.1.

Naming

This minor planet was named by the discoverer in honor of Soviet astronomer Andrei Severny (1913–1987), who was the Director of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and known for his work on solar flares and astronomical observations from artificial satellites. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 October 1969 (M.P.C. 2971).

References