Discovered by S. Arend MPC designation 1652 Hergé Observation arc 82.62 yr (30,176 days) Orbits Sun Named after Hergé | Discovery date 9 August 1953 Minor planet category main-belt · Flora Discovered 9 August 1953 Discoverer Sylvain Arend Asteroid family Flora family | |
Alternative names 1953 PA · 1933 UE1
1939 HG Discovery site Royal Observatory of Belgium Similar 625 Xenia, 9081 Hideakianno, Asteroid belt, 17 Thetis, Sun | ||
1652 Hergé, provisional designation 1953 PA, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 August 1953, by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium.
Hergé is a S-type asteroid and member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,234 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3.38 years (1,233 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.15 and is tilted by 3 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. The was first identified as 1933 UE1 at Heidelberg Observatory in 1933, extending the body's observation arc by 20 years prior to its official discovery observation.
In September 2014, astronomer Petr Pravec obtained a rotational light-curve of Hergé from photometric observations taken at Ondřejov Observatory. It gave a rotation period of 16.36 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.42 magnitude (U=3-).
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Hergé measures between 8.68 and 8.95 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.116 and 0.308. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 9.41 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 12.54.
This minor planet was named in honor of Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, better known under his pseudonym Hergé. He is considered to be the father of the fictional Adventures of Tintin, one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, and creator of its hero, Tintin, in 1929. The asteroid 1683 Castafiore was also named after the comic-strip character Bianca Castafiore from the series. Naming citation was published on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6831).