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2732 Witt, provisional designation 1926 FG, is a bright asteroid and namesake of the Witt family located in the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers (7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 19 March 1926, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in Heidelberg, Germany. The unusual A-type asteroid was named after astronomer Carl Gustav Witt.

Orbit and classification

Witt the parent body and namesake of the Witt family (535), a large family of stony asteroids with more than 1,600 known members.

It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.7–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,675 days; semi-major axis of 2.76 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.02 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins at Heidelberg in April 1926, two week after its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS classification, Witt is an uncommon A-type asteroid, while the overall spectral type for members of the Witt family is that of an S-type.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Witt measures 11.001 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.305.

Rotation period

As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Witt has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.

Naming

This minor planet was named by Brian G. Marsden after Carl Gustav Witt (1866–1946), a German astronomer at the Berlin Observatory and a discoverer of minor planets himself, best known for the discovery of the near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 September 1983 (M.P.C. 8153).

References

1. ^ "2732 Witt (1926 FG)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
2. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2732 Witt (1926 FG)" (2018-03-27 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
3. ^ "Asteroid 2732 Witt – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
4. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID 118745497.
5. ^ Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131. S2CID 119280014.
6. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 April 2018.

External links

• 2732 Witt CCD Spectrum, Schelte Bus and Richard Binzel (SMASS), 2004
• 2732 Witt, Dwarf Planets and Asteroids: Minor Bodies of the Solar System (p. 42)
• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 2732 Witt at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2732 Witt at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Witt asteroids
• Discoveries by Max Wolf
• Named minor planets
• A-type asteroids (SMASS)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1926