40 Harmonia

40 Harmonia
	A three-dimensional model of 40 Harmonia based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered by	H. Goldschmidt
Discovery date	March 31, 1856
Designations
MPC designation	(40) Harmonia
Pronunciation	/hɑːrˈmoʊniə/[1]
Named after	Harmonia
Alternative designations	1950 XU
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
	Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion	355.021 Gm (2.373 AU)
Perihelion	323.537 Gm (2.163 AU)
Semi-major axis	339.279 Gm (2.268 AU)
Eccentricity	0.046
Orbital period (sidereal)	1,247.514 d (3.42 a)
Mean anomaly	249.120°
Inclination	4.256°
Longitude of ascending node	94.287°
Argument of perihelion	268.988°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	107.6 km
Mass	~1.3×1018 kg
Synodic rotation period	0.3712 d (8.909 h)[3]
Geometric albedo	0.242[4]
Spectral type	S
Apparent magnitude	9.31 (brightest)
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.0

Harmonia (minor planet designation: 40 Harmonia) is a large main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German-French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt on March 31, 1856,[5] and named after Harmonia, the Greek goddess of harmony. The name was chosen to mark the end of the Crimean War.

The asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.42 years and a relatively low eccentricity of 0.046. It has a cross-sectional size of 107.6 km. The spectrum of 40 Harmonia matches an S-type (silicate) in the Tholen classification system, and is similar to primitive achondrite meteorites.[6] Photometric observations at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico during 2008–09 were used to generate a light curve that showed four unequal minima and maxima per cycle. The curve shows a period of 8.909 ± 0.001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.28 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This result is compatible with previous studies.[3]

Speckle interferometric observations carried out with the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory during 1982–84 failed to discover a satellite companion.[7] In 1988 a search for satellites or dust orbiting this asteroid was performed using the UH88 telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatories, but the effort came up empty.[8]

References

Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
Yeomans, Donald K., "40 Harmonia", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 7 April 2013.
Pilcher, Frederick (October 2009), "New Lightcurves of 8 Flora, 13 Egeria, 14 Irene, 25 Phocaea 40 Harmonia, 74 Galatea, and 122 Gerda", The Minor Planet Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 133–136, Bibcode:2009MPBu...36..133P.
Asteroid Data Archive, Planetary Science Institute, archived from the original on 23 June 2006, retrieved 3 November 2008.
"Numbered Minor Planets 1–5000", Discovery Circumstances, IAU Minor Planet center, retrieved 7 April 2013.
Hiroi, T.; et al. (March 1993), "Modeling of S-type asteroid spectra using primitive achondrites and iron meteorites", Icarus, vol. 102, no. 1, pp. 107–116, Bibcode:1993Icar..102..107H, doi:10.1006/icar.1993.1036.
Roberts, Lewis C., Jr.; et al. (November 1995), "A Speckle Interferometric Survey for Asteroid Duplicity", Astronomical Journal, vol. 110, pp. 2463–2468, Bibcode:1995AJ....110.2463R, doi:10.1086/117704.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Gradie, J.; Flynn, L. (March 1988), "A Search for Satellites and Dust Belts Around Asteroids: Negative Results", Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, vol. 19, pp. 405–406, Bibcode:1988LPI....19..405G.

External links

40 Harmonia at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
40 Harmonia at the JPL Small-Body Database

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[1] Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language

[JPL-2] Yeomans, Donald K., "40 Harmonia", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 7 April 2013.

[Pilcher2009-3] Pilcher, Frederick (October 2009), "New Lightcurves of 8 Flora, 13 Egeria, 14 Irene, 25 Phocaea 40 Harmonia, 74 Galatea, and 122 Gerda", The Minor Planet Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 133–136, Bibcode:2009MPBu...36..133P.

[ADA-4] Asteroid Data Archive, Planetary Science Institute, archived from the original on 23 June 2006, retrieved 3 November 2008.

[IAU_MPC-5] "Numbered Minor Planets 1–5000", Discovery Circumstances, IAU Minor Planet center, retrieved 7 April 2013.

[Hiroi1993-6] Hiroi, T.; et al. (March 1993), "Modeling of S-type asteroid spectra using primitive achondrites and iron meteorites", Icarus, vol. 102, no. 1, pp. 107–116, Bibcode:1993Icar..102..107H, doi:10.1006/icar.1993.1036.

[Roberts1995-7] Roberts, Lewis C., Jr.; et al. (November 1995), "A Speckle Interferometric Survey for Asteroid Duplicity", Astronomical Journal, vol. 110, pp. 2463–2468, Bibcode:1995AJ....110.2463R, doi:10.1086/117704.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Gradie1988-8] Gradie, J.; Flynn, L. (March 1988), "A Search for Satellites and Dust Belts Around Asteroids: Negative Results", Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, vol. 19, pp. 405–406, Bibcode:1988LPI....19..405G.