Discovered by L. Boyer MPC designation 1851 Lacroute Minor planet category main-belt · (inner) Absolute magnitude 12.7 Discoverer Louis Boyer Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 9 November 1950 Alternative names 1950 VA Discovered 9 November 1950 Orbits Sun Discovery site Algiers Observatory | |
Named after Pierre Lacroute
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1851 Lacroute, provisional designation 1950 VA, is an asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 November 1950, by French astronomer Louis Boyer at the Algiers Observatory in the capital of Algeria, Northern Africa.
Lacroute orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.5–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (1,997 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic. As no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made, Lacroute's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation in 1950.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Lacroute measures 16.9 and 18.2 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.049 and 0.074, respectively. As of 2016, the body's spectral type, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.
This minor planet was named in honor of French astronomer Pierre Lacroute (1906–1993), a known astrometrist, president of IAU's Commission 24 in the 1970s, and director of the Observatory of Strasbourg, instrumental in the establishment of the Stellar Data Center (also see SIMBAD). He also made an independent reduction of the astrometric star catalogue AGK3, using a technique involving overlapping photographic plates. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 4419).