3412_Kafka

3412 Kafka

3412 Kafka

Asteroid

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]

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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. [1]
    "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3412 Kafka (1983 AU2)" (2017-06-02 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  2. [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. [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. [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. [5]
    "3412 Kafka (1983 AU2)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  6. [6]
    Edberg & Levy 1994, p. 80.
  7. [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. [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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