3412 Kafka

3412 Kafka, provisional designation 1983 AU2, is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 January 1983, by American astronomers Randolph Kirk and Donald Rudy at Palomar Observatory in California, United States.[5][6] The asteroid was named after writer Franz Kafka.[2]

3412 Kafka
Discovery [1]
Discovered byR. Kirk
D. Rudy
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date10 January 1983
Designations
(3412) Kafka
Named after
Franz Kafka
(Austrian–Czech writer)[2]
1983 AU2 · 1942 YB
1977 FF3 · 1978 PA2
1978 QE1
main-belt
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc74.42 yr (27,182 days)
Aphelion2.4565 AU
Perihelion1.9925 AU
2.2245 AU
Eccentricity0.1043
3.32 yr (1,212 days)
194.88°
Inclination2.9731°
307.60°
117.70°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions6.084±0.080 km[3]
2766±40 h[4]
0.231±0.076[3]
13.4[1]

    Orbit and classification

    Kafka orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,212 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It was first identified as 1942 YB at the Finnish Turku Observatory in 1942, extending the body's observation arc by 41 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[5]

    Physical characteristics

    According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kafka measures 6.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.231.[3] Kafka is a superslow rotator. Its rotation period of 2,766 hours (about 115 days) is among the longest of any known asteroid.[4][7]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after Franz Kafka (1883–1924), Austrian–Czech writer of novels and short stories, in which protagonists are faced with bizarre or surrealistic situations.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 February 1987 (M.P.C. 11641).[8]

    References
    1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3412 Kafka (1983 AU2)" (2017-06-02 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
    2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3412) Kafka". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3412) Kafka. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 284. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3412. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121.
    4. Erasmus, N.; Kramer, D.; McNeill, A.; Trilling, D. E.; Janse van Rensburg, P.; van Belle, G. T.; Tonry, J. L.; Denneau, L.; Heinze, A.; Weiland, H. J. (September 2021). "Discovery of superslow rotating asteroids with ATLAS and ZTF photometry". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 506 (3): 3872–3881. arXiv:2106.16066. Bibcode:2021MNRAS.506.3872E. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab1888.
    5. "3412 Kafka (1983 AU2)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
    6. Edberg & Levy 1994, p. 80.
    7. "LCDB Data for (3412) Kafka". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 10 September 2023. (Enter 3412 as upper and lower range for the asteroid number, then press "submit".)
    8. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 December 2016.


    Bibliography
    • Edberg, Stephen J.; Levy, David H. (1994). Observing, Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, and the Zodiacal Light. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-42003-7.
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