Discovered by Joel Hastings Metcalf Alternative names 1912 OD Aphelion 3.0270 AU (452.83 Gm) Discovered 9 February 1912 Orbits Sun Discovery site Winchester observatory | Discovery date 9 February 1912 Observation arc 98.79 yr (36082 d) Perihelion 2.4917 AU (372.75 Gm) Absolute magnitude 9.31 Discoverer Joel Hastings Metcalf Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Similar 528 Rezia, 540 Rosamunde, 188 Menippe, 679 Pax, 161 Athor | ||
729 Watsonia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was named after the Canadian-American astronomer James C. Watson. Asteroid (729) Watsonia occulted the star HIP 53417 (54 Leonis A/B, 4.3 Magnitude Star) on 2013 Mar 03 at 01:48.
This object is the namesake of a family of 31–139 asteroids that share similar spectral properties and orbital elements; hence they may have arisen from the same collisional event. All members have a relatively high orbital inclination.
References
729 Watsonia Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA