Discovered by H. Goldschmidt Alternative names 1950 XU Aphelion 355.021 Gm (2.373 AU) Discovered 31 March 1856 Discovery site Paris Observatory | Discovery date March 31, 1856 Minor planet category Main belt Perihelion 323.537 Gm (2.163 AU) Discoverer Hermann Goldschmidt Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
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Similar Hermann Goldschmidt discoveries, Other celestial objects | ||
2008 09 27 40 harmonia
40 Harmonia /hɑːrˈmoʊniə/ is a large main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German-French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt on March 31, 1856, and named after Harmonia, the Greek goddess of harmony. The name was chosen to mark the end of the Crimean War.
The spectrum of 40 Harmonia matches an S-type in the Tholen classification system, and is similar to primitive achondrite meteorites.
Photometric observations at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico during 2008–09 were used to generate a light curve that showed four unequal minima and maxima per cycle. The curve shows a period of 8.909 ± 0.001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.28 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This result is compatible with previous studies.
Speckle interferometric observations carried out with the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory during 1982–84 failed to discover a satellite companion. In 1988 a search for satellites or dust orbiting this asteroid was performed using the UH88 telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatories, but the effort came up empty.