Discovered by J. Rheden MPC designation 844 Leontina Absolute magnitude 9.6 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 1 October 1916 Discovered 1 October 1916 Orbits Sun | |
Alternative names 1916 AP · 1935 BN1953 FL1 · A902 EC Minor planet category main-belt (outer) · Veritas family People also search for 565 Marbachia, 830 Petropolitana | ||
844 Leontina, provisional designation 1916 AP, is a stony asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 36 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 October 1916, by Austrian astronomer Joseph Rheden at Vienna Observatory, Austria.
The X-type asteroid is presumably a member of the Veritas family, located in the outer main belt and named after its apparent largest constituent, 490 Veritas. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.0–3.4 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,097 days). Its orbit is tilted by 9 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an eccentricity of 0.07.
Multiple light-curve analysis rendered a well-defined, concurring rotation period of 6.79 hours. According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the U.S. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, measurements of the body's brightness gave a divergent albedo of 0.13, 0.20 and 0.31, respectively. As a result, the asteroid's estimated diameter strongly varies between 28 and 40 kilometers. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) considers Akari's albedo-figure of 0.20 the most accurate one and consequently assumes the otherwise classified X-type body to be of a stony surface composition with a calculated diameter of 36 kilometers.
The minor planet was named by the discoverer for his home town Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria.