Discovery date 31 October 1899 Minor planet category Main belt Discovered 31 October 1899 | Alternative names 1899 EU Observation arc 116.46 yr (42537 d) Orbits Sun | |
Discovered by M. Wolf,A. Schwassmann Aphelion 2.99307 AU (447.757 Gm) Discovery site Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory Similar 417 Suevia, 528 Rezia, 509 Iolanda, 499 Venusia, 484 Pittsburghia | ||
449 Hamburga is a large Main belt asteroid that was discovered by German astronomers Max Wolf and A. Schwassmann on October 31, 1899 in Heidelberg. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous material. It is named for the city of Hamburg in Germany. The name was announced in 1901 during a festival held by the Mathematical Society of Hamburg.
In the 1980s and 1990s, NASA considered a spacecraft mission to the asteroid, including a tie-in with McDonald's. The mission plan called for a launch in 1995 and a flyby of Hamburga in early 1998.
In August 1988 in the United States' city of Baltimore, a P. Weissman addressed the International Astronomical Union on a mission to this asteroid (449), a mission which also include a rendezvous with Comet Kopf. See Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby for more on the mission to the comet. This mission can also be compared to Rosetta, which successfully flew by two minor planets and orbited a Comet during its approach to the Sun in the early 21st century.
P. Weissman later worked on the Rosetta mission
It was predicted that 449 occulted the star HIP 1424 in July 2013.
449 Hamburga was identified as one of three asteroids that were likely to be a parent body for chondrites along with 304 Olga and 335 Roberta. All three asteroids were known to have low-albedo (not reflect as much light) and be close to "meteorite producing resonances". Chrondrites are the most common type of meteor found on Earth, accounting for over 80% of all meteors. They are named for the tiny spherical silicate particles that are found inside them (those particles are called chondrules).