Discovered by S. Belyavskyj MPC designation 978 Aidamina Discovered 18 May 1922 Orbits Sun Discovery site Simeiz Observatory | Discovery date 18 May 1922 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 9.73 Discoverer Sergey Belyavsky Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Aida Minaevna
(discoverer's friend) Alternative names 1922 LY · 1929 YA
1946 QD · 1966 BD
A906 VB · A923 YA Similar 516 Amherstia, 276 Adelheid, 958 Asplinda, 441 Bathilde, 132 Aethra | ||
978 Aidamina, provisional designation 1922 LY, is a dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 79 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 May 1922, by Soviet–Russian astronomer Sergey Belyavsky at Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula, and named for a friend of the discoverer. Twelve nights later, the body was independently discovered by Max Wolf at Heidelberg in Germany.
Description
In the Tholen taxonomy, Aidamina is the only asteroid classified as PF-type asteroid, a transitional class between the carbonaceous F-type and dark P-type asteroids, of which only a few dozens bodies are currently known. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4–3.9 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,089 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 22° with respect to the ecliptic. In 1906, it was first identified as A906 VB at Heidelberg. Aidamina's observation arc begins at Vienna, one month after its official discovery. The Minor Planet Center's observational records do not include the body's discovery observation at Simeiz from May 1922.
In 2003, three mostly fragmentary light-curves of Aidamina were obtained by astronomers Maurice Clark at Montgomery College (9.5 hours; Δ0.1 mag; U=1), French amateur astronomers Laurent Bernasconi and Jean-Gabriel Bosch (10.100 hours; Δ0.1 mag; U=1), and a group of astronomers including Elaine Kirkpatrick at Rose-Hulman Observatory in Indiana, United States (10.099 hours; Δ0.13 mag; U=2). In July 2014, a rather asymmetric bimodal lightcurve, obtained by a collaboration between American astronomers Frederick Pilcher and Andrea Ferrero, gave a more refine rotation period of 10.098 hours with a brightness variation of 0.24 magnitude.(U=3).
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Aidamina measures between 78.73 and 82.28 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has a low albedo between 0.035 and 0.04 (without preliminary results). The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained from 17 observations made by IRAS, that is, an albedo of 0.0365 and a diameter of 78.73 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 9.73.
This minor planet was named after a friend of the discoverer's family, Aida Minaevna. The author of the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Lutz Schmadel, compiled this citation asking several Russian astronomers including Nikolai Chernykh for further information.