Discovered by S. Arend MPC designation 1916 Boreas Absolute magnitude 14.93 | Discovery date 1 September 1953 Alternative names 1953 RA Discovered 1 September 1953 Orbits Sun | |
Similar 1580 Betulia, 1980 Tezcatlipoca, 1943 Anteros, 1627 Ivar, 1221 Amor | ||
1916 Boreas, provisional designation 1953 RA, is an eccentric, stony Amor asteroid discovered on 1 September 1953, by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle. The asteroid was observed for 2 months and then with time became a lost asteroid. It was recovered in 1974 by Richard Eugene McCrosky, G. Schwartz and JH Bulger based on a predicted position by Brian G. Marsden.
The near-Earth asteroid measures about 3 to 4 kilometers in diameter. It has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.25 AU. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.2–3.3 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,251 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.45 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic.
It takes 3.5 hours to rotate once around its axis and has an albedo of 0.20, as assumed by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link. Its stony composition (S-type) is one of the most common ones among asteroids.
The minor planet is named after the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas, as the asteroid was discovered moving rapidly northward after passing the ascending node of its orbit. Naming citation was published on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6833).