Discovered by A. Patry MPC designation 1510 Charlois Observation arc 77.72 yr (28,386 days) Orbits Sun Asteroid family Eunomia family | Discovery date 22 February 1939 Minor planet category main-belt · Eunomia Discovered 22 February 1939 Discoverer André Patry Discovery site Nice Observatory | |
Alternative names 1939 DC · 1959 WE
1963 UB Named after Auguste Charlois (astronomer) Similar 360 Carlova, 277 Elvira, 423 Diotima, 345 Tercidina, 54 Alexandra | ||
1510 Charlois, provisional designation 1939 DC, is a carbonaceous Eunomia asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 24 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 February 1939, by French astronomer André Patry at Nice Observatory in southeastern France.
Charlois is a member of the Eunomia family, a large group of otherwise mostly S-type asteroids and the most prominent family in the intermediate main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.3–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 4 months (1,595 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic. As no precoveries were taken and no prior identifications were made, the body's observation arc begins with its discovery observation in 1939.
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, Charlois measures between 20.3 and 27.6 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.077 and 0.12, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.079 and a diameter of 23.7 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.5.
In November 2007, a rotational light-curve, constructed from photometric observations by Crag Bennefeld at the Rick Observatory, gave a rotation period of 7000665300000000000♠6.653±0.008 hours with a brightness variation of 0.23 in magnitude (U=2). Another light-curve, obtained by French astronomers Pierre Antonini and René Roy in February 2013, gave a period of 7000586600000000000♠5.866±0.0003 hours with an amplitude of 0.18 (U=2).
The minor planet was named in memory of French astronomer Auguste Charlois (1864–1910), an early discoverer of minor planets at the Nice Observatory where this asteroid was discovered. He was a pioneer during the transition from visual to photographic discoveries in the late 19th century. Until his homicide in 1910, he had discovered 99 asteroids. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 4190).