Discovered by M. F. Wolf MPC designation 3202 Graff Absolute magnitude 10.7 | Discovery date 3 January 1908 Alternative names A908 AA · 1981 ES13 Discovered 3 January 1908 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Discovery site Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory Similar 807 Ceraskia, 509 Iolanda, 908 Buda, 528 Rezia, 540 Rosamunde | ||
3202 Graff, provisional designation A908 AA, is a carbonaceous Hilda asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately 36 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 January 1908, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany.
The dark C-type asteroid is classified as a rare D-type by Pan-STARRS' large-scale survey, and belongs to the Hilda family of asteroids, which are in a 3:2 orbital resonance with the giant planet Jupiter. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.5–4.4 AU once every 7 years and 10 months (2,853 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins 3 weeks after its discovery with its first used observation at Heidelberg.
In July 2015, a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained by astronomer Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies. It gave a well-defined rotation period of 7001173200000000000♠17.32±0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.18 in magnitude (U=3-). According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 35.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.055. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 36.8 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 10.9.
This minor planet was named after English-born astronomer Gareth "Graff" Vaughan Williams (b. 1965), who identified various low-numbered asteroids among bodies that had been given provisional designations. His work at the Minor Planet Center (MPC) has received much recognition. Naming citation was published on 10 April 1990 (M.P.C. 16245), based on a suggestion by long-time MPC director Brian G. Marsden (1937–2000) and by Conrad M. Bardwell (1926–2010), associate director of the MPC and who made the identification for this body. The minor planets 1615 Bardwell and 1877 Marsden were named in honor of these two prominent astronomers at the MPC.