Discovered by J. C. Watson Minor planet category Main belt Aphelion 3.3586 AU (502.44 Gm) Discovered 18 October 1875 Orbits Sun Discoverer James Craig Watson | Discovery date 18 October 1875 Observation arc 116.94 yr (42714 d) Perihelion 2.6084 AU (390.21 Gm) Rotation period 8.1 hours Spectral type C-type asteroid Named after Nüwa | |
Similar 149 Medusa, 161 Athor, 165 Loreley, 121 Hermione, 128 Nemesis | ||
150 Nuwa is a large main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Canadian-American astronomer James Craig Watson on October 18, 1875, and named after Nüwa, the Chinese creator goddess. It is listed as a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter. Based upon the spectrum it is classified as a C-type asteroid, which indicates that it is probably composed of primitive carbonaceous chondritic material and the surface is exceedingly dark.
Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Catania Astrophysical Observatory during 1992 and 1993 gave a light curve with a period of 8.140 ± 0.005 hours. In 2004, an additional photometric study was performed at Swilken Brae Observatory in St Andrews, Fife, yielding a probable period of 8.1364 ± 0.0008 hours and a brightness variation of 0.26 ± 0.03 in magnitude. A 2011 study from Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico gave a period of 8.1347 ± 0.0001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.17 ± 0.02 magnitude, which is consistent with prior results.
On December 17, 1999, a star was occulted by Nuwa.