Alternative names 1923 JA; 1934 JC Observation arc 123.73 yr (45191 d) Discovered 22 December 1891 | Discovery date 22 December 1891 Minor planet category Mars-crossing asteroid Aphelion 3.0985 AU (463.53 Gm) Orbits Sun Discoverer Max Wolf | |
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Discovery site Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory Similar 417 Suevia, 471 Papagena, 540 Rosamunde, Sun, 423 Diotima | ||
323 Brucia (/ˈbruːsiə/ BREW-see-ə or /ˈbruːʃə/ BREW-shə) was the first asteroid to be discovered by the use of astrophotography. It was also the first of over 200 asteroids discovered by Max Wolf, a pioneer in that method of finding astronomical objects. Discovered on December 22, 1891, it was named in honour of Catherine Wolfe Bruce, a noted patroness of the science of astronomy, who had donated $10,000 for the construction of the telescope used by Wolf.
It will be an outer Mars-crossing asteroid with perihelion (q) less than 1.666 AU until July 2017. For comparison, asteroid 4222 Nancita will become a Mars-crossing asteroid in June 2019. (6454) 1991 UG1 was a Mars-crossing asteroid until January 2016.
It has a synodic rotation period of 9.46 hours (as of 1998).