Discovered by M. F. Wolf MPC designation 1967 Menzel Discovered 1 November 1905 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 1 November 1905 Minor planet category main-belt · (inner) Absolute magnitude 12.1 Discoverer Max Wolf | |
Named after Donald Menzel
(astrophysicist) Alternative names A905 VC · 1930 DS
1965 SF · 1965 VH
1970 EM · 1973 CE
1975 UH · 1975 VE Discovery site Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl Similar 509 Iolanda, 807 Ceraskia, 908 Buda, 528 Rezia, 540 Rosamunde | ||
1967 Menzel, provisional designation A905 VC, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 November 1905, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany.
The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,220 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.14 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins with its first used observation at Goethe Link Observatory in 1965, or 60 years after its official discovery, with a number of unused observations previously made at Heidelberg.
Between September 2005 and November 2015, a total of least 10 rotational light-curves were obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations from several observatories all over the world. They all gave a concurring, well-defined rotation period of 2.83–2.84 hours with a brightness variation between 0.24 and 0.39 in magnitude.(U=3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3/2+/3).
According to the space-based survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures between 9.6 and 10.2 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.21 and 0.25. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives a typical albedo for stony asteroids of 0.21 and a diameter of 10.1 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 12.25.
This minor planet was named after American astronomer Donald Howard Menzel (1901–1976), who was the director of the Harvard College Observatory and a pioneer in theoretical and observational astrophysics. Menzel, a mentor of several prolific astronomers, calculated Atomic Transition Probabilities, analysed the composition of stars from their spectra, studied the physics of gaseous nebulae and the Sun's chromosphere, observed solar eclipses, and measured the rotation period of Uranus and Neptune by means of spectroscopy. Menzel was also popular for debunking UFO sightings. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 4158).