63 Ausonia

63 Ausonia
VLT-SPHERE image of Ausonia
Discovery
Discovered byA. de Gasparis
Discovery siteCapodimonte Obs.
Discovery date10 February 1861
Designations
Pronunciation/ɔːˈsoʊniə/
Named after
Ausonia
(ancient name for Italy)
1947 NA · 1948 WT
main-belt · (inner)
Vesta
AdjectivesAusonian /ɔːˈsoʊniən/
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc156.34 yr (57,104 days)
Aphelion2.6993 AU
Perihelion2.0910 AU
2.3951 AU
Eccentricity0.1270
3.71 yr (1,354 days)
340.16°
0° 15m 57.24s / day
Inclination5.7763°
337.75°
295.78°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions152 × 77 × 69 km
(± 4 × 4 × 3 km)
93±3 km
Mass(1.2±0.2)×1018 kg (composite estimate)
(8.7±1.3)×1017 kg
Mean density
2.96±0.61 g/cm3
2.05±0.39 g/cm3
9.297587±0.000001 h
120°
121°±2°
−27°±2°
0.195 (calculated)
Tholen = S
SMASS = Sa
S
B–V = 0.916
U–B = 0.500
7.55
7.13

63 Ausonia is a stony Vestian asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on 10 February 1861, from the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, in Naples, Italy. The initial choice of name for the asteroid was "Italia", after Italy, but this was modified to Ausonia, an ancient classical name for the Italian region.

Orbit and classification

Ausonia is a member of the Vesta family. Vestian asteroids have a composition akin to cumulate eucrites (HED meteorites) and are thought to have originated deep within 4 Vesta's crust, possibly from the Rheasilvia crater, a large impact crater on its southern hemisphere near the South pole, formed as a result of a subcatastrophic collision. Vesta is the main belt's second-largest and second-most-massive body after Ceres.

It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt with a semi-major axis of 2.40 astronomical units (AU) once every 3 years and 9 months (1,354 days). Its distance from the Sun ranges from 2.09 AU at perihelion to 2.70 AU at aphelion. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic plane.

Physical characteristics

Lightcurve-based 3D-model of Ausonia

In the Tholen classification, Ausonia is a stony S-type asteroid, while in the SMASS classification, it is an Sa-subtype, that transitions from the S-type to the uncommon A-type asteroid. The body's stony composition has also been confirmed by polarimetric observations in 2017. Based on its lightcurve, a small moon had been suggested but never confirmed.

According to the 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, Ausonia measures between 87.47 and 116.044 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.125 and 0.25. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.2082 and a diameter of 90 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 7.55.

Ausonia was in a study using the Hubble FGS. Other studied asteroids included 15 Eunomia, 43 Ariadne, 44 Nysa, and 624 Hektor.

Notes

  1. ↑ Calculated from its standard gravitational parameter GM = 0.058±0.009 km3/s2.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 63 Ausonia" (2017-07-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "63 Ausonia". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  3. ↑ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  4. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (63) Ausonia. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 21. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "MinorPlanet.info: One Asteroid Information". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 3 February 2018. Search using Number = "63"
  6. 1 2 "Asteroid 63 Ausonia". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Ausonian". Oxford English Dictionary (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 P. Vernazza et al. (2021) VLT/SPHERE imaging survey of the largest main-belt asteroids: Final results and synthesis. Astronomy & Astrophysics 54, A56
  9. 1 2 Fuentes-Muñoz, Oscar; Farnocchia, Davide; Giorgini, Jon D.; Park, Ryan S. (1 December 2025). "Asteroid Mass Estimation by Mutual Perturbations During Close Encounters After Gaia Focused Product Release". The Astronomical Journal. 170 (6): 353. Bibcode:2025AJ....170..353F. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ae0cc9. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 283347135.
  10. 1 2 Belskaya, I. N.; Fornasier, S.; Tozzi, G. P.; Gil-Hutton, R.; Cellino, A.; Antonyuk, K.; et al. (March 2017). "Refining the asteroid taxonomy by polarimetric observations". Icarus. 284: 30–42. Bibcode:2017Icar..284...30B. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.11.003. hdl:11336/63617.
  11. 1 2 Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
  12. 1 2 Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. S2CID 118700974.
  13. 1 2 Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System. 12: IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  14. 1 2 Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117. S2CID 9341381.
  15. 1 2 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. S2CID 46350317.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ Kelley, Michael S.; Vilas, Faith; Gaffey, Michael J.; Abell, Paul A. (September 2003). "Quantified mineralogical evidence for a common origin of 1929 Kollaa with 4 Vesta and the HED meteorites". Icarus. 165 (1): 215–218. Bibcode:2003Icar..165..215K. doi:10.1016/S0019-1035(03)00149-0.
  18. ↑ Johnston, Wm. Robert (29 December 2017). "Other Reports of Asteroid/TNO Companions". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  19. ↑ Durech, Josef; Kaasalainen, Mikko; Herald, David; Dunham, David; Timerson, Brad; Hanus, Josef; et al. (August 2011). "Combining asteroid models derived by lightcurve inversion with asteroidal occultation silhouettes". Icarus. 214 (2): 652–670. arXiv:1104.4227. Bibcode:2011Icar..214..652D. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.03.016. S2CID 119271216.
  20. ↑ Tanga, P.; Hestroffer, D.; Cellino, A.; Lattanzi, M.; Di Martino, M.; Zappalà, V. (April 2003). "Asteroid observations with the Hubble Space Telescope. II. Duplicity search and size measurements for 6 asteroids". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 401 (2): 733–741. Bibcode:2003A&A...401..733T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030032.