Discovered by H. van Gent MPC designation 1226 Golia Minor planet category main-belt · (middle) Absolute magnitude 11.1 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 22 April 1930 Alternative names 1930 HL · 1957 WN Discovered 22 April 1930 Orbits Sun Discovery site Union Observatory | |
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1226 Golia, provisional designation 1930 HL, is a metallic asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 April 1930, by Dutch astronomer Hendrik van Gent at Leiden Southern Station, annex to the Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa. It is named for Jacobus Golius.
Description
Golia is a M-type asteroid and orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.3–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,516 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins at Johannesburg one night after its official discovery observation, with no precoveries taken and no prior identifications made.
In March 1992, the first reliable rotational light curve of Golia was obtained by Italian astronomer Mario Di Martino using the ESO 1-metre telescope at La Silla in northern Chile. Analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 4.097 hours with a change in brightness of 0.35 magnitude (U=3). Another light curve was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band at the Palomar Transient Factory in October 2011, giving a period of 4.0910 hours and an amplitude of 0.24 magnitude (U=2).
According to preliminary results by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Golia measures 11.68 and 12.18 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.187 and 0.172, respectively, while the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS gives a diameter of 16.39 kilometers and an albedo of 0.239. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link considers Golia to be of stony composition, deriving an albedo of 0.1008 and a diameter of 15.92 kilometers, using an absolute magnitude of 12.1.
This minor planet was named after Dutch professor of astronomy Jakob Gool (1596–1667), also known as Jacobus Golius, who founded the Leiden Observatory in 1633. He was a mathematician and orientalist, who translated Arabic texts into Latin including the work of 9th-century Muslim astronomer Al-Farghani. He was also a teacher of French philosopher René Descartes, after whom the minor planet 3587 Descartes is named. Naming citation was compiled by Lutz Schmadel for the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names based on a private communication with Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden.