Discovered by A. Charlois MPC designation 327 Columbia Minor planet category main-belt · (middle) Orbits Sun | Discovery date 22 March 1892 Alternative names 1934 JN Discovered 22 March 1892 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Observation arc 124.62 yr (45,519 days) Similar 441 Bathilde, 360 Carlova, 423 Diotima, 302 Clarissa, 317 Roxane | ||
327 Columbia is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 26 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 March 1892, by French astronomer Auguste Charlois at Nice Observatory in southeast France. It is named after Christopher Columbus (1451–1506).
Description
In the SMASS taxonomy, Columbia is a Sl-type asteroid, an intermediary from the stony S-type asteroids to the rare L-type asteroids. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.6–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,691 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins the night after its official discovery at Nice.
In May 2003, a rotational lightcurve of Columbia was obtained by French amateur astronomer René Roy. It gave a rotation period of 5.93 hours with a brightness variation of 0.16 magnitude (U=2). In February 2007, photometric observations by his college Pierre Antonini gave a well defined period of 5.9320 hours and an amplitude of 0.42 (U=3). In 2016, a modeled lightcurve was derived from various photometric database sources, giving a concurring period of 5.93183 hours and a spin axis of (52.0°, 43.0°) in ecliptic coordinates (U=n.a.).
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Columbia measures between 26.13 and 30.29 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.214 and 0.250. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.2565 and a diameter of 26.24 kilometers using an absolute magnitude of 10.0.
This minor planet was named in honor of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), who reached the New World during his first voyage in 1492, instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended. The asteroid was named in 1892, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his historic discovery. Naming citation was first mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 37).