Discovered by S. Arend MPC designation 2513 Baetslé Orbits Sun | Discovery date 19 September 1950 Named after Paul-Louis Baetslé Discovered 19 September 1950 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Alternative names 1950 SH · 1936 PC1943 RA · 1943 RC1950 TK · 1950 TW21964 VO2 · 1971 UH31974 QV · 1981 QO People also search for Sun, 8 Flora, 915 Cosette, 1579 Herrick | ||
2513 Baetslé, provisional designation 1950 SH, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 September 1950, by Belgian astronomer Sylvain Arend at the Royal Observatory in Uccle, Belgium.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,262 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. Its orbit is almost coplanar. Baetslé first used observation dates back to 1943, when it was identified as 1943 RA at Heidelberg Observatory, extending the body's observation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery observation.
Baetslé takes 6.08 hours for a full a rotation around its axis. Two observations by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, showed an absolute magnitude of 13.40 and a low geometric albedo of 0.03. While the size, rotational period and orbital data are commonly found among main-belt asteroids, the albedo was exceptionally low and suggested that the body's composition could be mostly carbonaceous. However, subsequent observations by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer's NEOWISE mission gave a higher albedo of 0.22 and 0.30 and the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives a value of 0.33, assuming the body to be of a stony rather than of a carbonaceous composition. This also concurs with the fact that, based on its orbital elements, the asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of rather bright and stony asteroids in the main-belt.
It was named in memory of astronomer Paul-Louis Baetslé (1909–1983), professor at the Brussels Royal Military School and a friend of Sylvain Arend. Naming citation was published on 20 December 1983 (M.P.C. 8404).