Discovered by M. F. Wolf MPC designation 659 Nestor Alternative names 1908 CS · A914 WF Discovered 23 March 1908 Discoverer Max Wolf | Discovery date 23 March 1908 Pronunciation ˈnɛstɔːr (nes'-tor) Orbital period 12 years Orbits Sun Named after Nestor (Greek mythology) | |
Minor planet category Jupiter trojan
(Greek camp) Discovery site Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory Max Wolf discoveries 588 Achilles, 528 Rezia, 540 Rosamunde | ||
659 Nestor (NES'-tor), provisional designation 1908 CS, is a dark Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 110 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 23 March 1908, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany.
Nestor is orbiting in the leading Greek camp at Jupiter's L4 Lagrangian point, 60° ahead of the giant planet's orbit (see Trojans in astronomy). It orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.6–5.8 AU once every 11 years and 9 months (4,301 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. As no precoveries were taken, and no previous identifications were made, Nestor's observation arc begins with its discovery observation in March 1908.
According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Nestor measures between 107.1 and 112.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo between 0.035 and 0.040. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) agrees with the results obtained by IRAS, that is an absolute magnitude of 8.99, an albedo of 0.038 and a diameter of 108.9 kilometers. A size estimate was also obtained from an occultation event when the asteroid eclipsed the star "TYC 6854-00630" (as designated in the Tycho Catalogue) for a duration of 9.52 seconds. Based on this time period, a diameter of at least 109 kilometers was inferred.
In the Tholen taxonomy, it is classified as a XC-type, as transitional group between the generic X and carbonaceous C-type class. It is also classified as a dark P-type by CALL.
In January 1988, the first rotational light-curve of Nestor was obtained by MIT-astronomer Richard P. Binzel showing a rotation period of 7001151000000000000♠15.1 hours (U=2). In August 1995, Italian astronomer Stefano Mottola observed the asteroid with the Bochum 0.61-metre Telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory, Chile, and derived a period of 7001159800000000000♠15.98±0.03 hours with a brightness variation of 6999310000000000000♠0.31±0.01 magnitude (U=3). In January and February 2014, two light-curves were obtained at the Palomar Transient Factory that gave a period of 7001159667000000000♠15.9667±0.0094 and 7001160000000000000♠16.000±0.260 hours with an amplitude of 0.24 and 0.22, respectively (U=2/2).
The minor planet was named from Greek mythology for the king of Pylos, Nestor. He was an Argonaut and counselor to the Greeks at Troy. Nestor fought against the centaurs and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. The asteroid was named by the German Astronomische Gesellschaft during a meeting at Breslau in 1910.