Discovered by M. F. Wolf MPC designation 330 Adalberta Discovered 2 February 1910 Discoverer Max Wolf Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 2 February 1910 Minor planet category main-belt · (inner) Orbits Sun Named after Adalbert Merx | |
Alternative names A910 CB · 1937 AD
1951 SW · 1974 OQ
1978 PS1 · 1978 QJ3
1980 EE Observation arc 106.36 yr (38,848 days) Discovery site Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory Similar 276 Adelheid, 417 Suevia, 132 Aethra, 193 Ambrosia, 509 Iolanda | ||
330 Adalberta, provisional designation A910 CB, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 9.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 2 February 1910, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany. It is likely named for either Adalbert Merx or Adalbert Krüger. In 1982, the asteroid's permanent designation was reassigned from the non-existent object 1892 X.
Description
The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 11 months (1,416 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.25 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic. Adalberta's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg in 1910.
In 2013, a rotational light-curve of Adalberta was obtained from photometric observations at Los Algarrobos Observatory (I38) in Uruguay. Light-curve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 3.5553 hours with a brightness variation of 0.44 magnitude (U=3).
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Adalberta measures 9.11 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.256, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 9.84 kilometers using an absolute magnitude of 12.4.
This minor planet was named in honor of the discoverer's father-in-law, Adalbert Merx (after whom another minor planet 808 Merxia is also named). However it is also possible that it was named for Adalbert Krüger (1832–1896), a German astronomer and editor of the Astronomische Nachrichten, which was one of the first international journals in the field of astronomy. Naming citation was first mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 37).
Previously, on 18 March 1892, another body discovered by Max Wolf with the provisional designation 1892 X was originally designated "330 Adalberta", but was subsequently lost and never recovered (also see Lost minor planet). In 1982, it was determined that Wolf erroneously measured two images of stars, not asteroids. As it was a false positive and the body never existed, the name Adalberta and number "330" was then reused for this asteroid, A910 CB. MPC citation was published on 6 June 1982 (M.P.C. 6939).