Discovered by L. Boyer MPC designation 1574 Meyer Discovered 22 March 1949 Orbits Sun Discovery site Algiers Observatory | Discovery date 22 March 1949 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 10.3 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Georges Meyer(astronomer, director) Alternative names 1949 FD · 1930 KE1935 CW People also search for 1339 Désagneauxa, Sun, 1606 Jekhovsky | ||
1574 Meyer, provisional designation 1949 FD, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 59 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 March 1949, by French astronomer Louis Boyer at Algiers Observatory in Algeria, northern Africa.
The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.4–3.7 AU once every 6 years and 8 months (2,430 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic. First identified as 1930 KE at Johannesburg Observatory, Meyer's observation arc was extended by 19 years prior to its official discovery observation at Algiers..
In March 2009, a rotational light-curve of Meyer was obtained from photometric observations by Landry Carbo at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory in Australia. The light-curve analysis gave a rotation period of 12.64 hours with a brightness variation of 0.12 magnitude (U=2).
According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Meyer measures between 57.78 and 69.97 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.027 and 0.042. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0559 and calculates a diameter of 58.88 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.9.
On 10 September 1998, Meyer occulted PPM 172432.
This minor planet was named for French astronomer M. Georges Meyer (b. 1894), director of the discovering Algiers Observatory. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 837).