47_Aglaja
47 Aglaja
Main-belt asteroid
47 Aglaja /əˈɡleɪ.ə/ is a large, dark main belt asteroid. It was discovered by Robert Luther on 15 September 1857 from Düsseldorf.[8] The name was chosen by the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Bonn and refers to Aglaea, one of the Charites in Greek mythology.[9] It was rendered Aglaia in English sources into the early 20th century, as 'i' and 'j' are equivalent in Latin names and in the Latin rendering of Greek names.[2]
Based upon its spectrum, 47 Aglaja is listed as a C-type asteroid under the Tholen classification taxonomy, indicating a carbonaceous composition. The SMASS classification system rates it as a rare B-type asteroid. There is a broad absorption feature at 1 μm that is associated with the presence of magnetite and is what gives the asteroid its blue tint.[7]
On 16 September 1984, the star SAO 146599 was occulted by 47 Aglaja. This event was observed from 13 sites in the continental United States, allowing a cross-sectional profile to be determined. Based upon this study, the asteroid has a diameter of 136.4 ± 1.2 km. The geometric albedo calculated at the time of the occultation was 0.071 ± 0.002.[10]
2012 photometric observations of this asteroid at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico gave a light curve with a period of 13.175 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.09 ± 0.01 in magnitude. This result is in agreement with previous studies.[5]