10208 Germanicus, provisional designation 1997 QN1, is a stony Florian asteroid and binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers in diameter.
Germanicus is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest families of stony asteroids. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,221 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It was first observed at Crimea–Nauchnij and Brorfelde Observatory in August 1987, extending the body's observation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Stroncone.[3]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Germanicus measures 2.87 and 3.552 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.36 and 0.267, respectively.[7][9][10] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts Petr Pravec's revised WISE-data, that is, an albedo of 0.1747 and a diameter of 3.50 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.79.[4]
Lightcurve and satellite
In August 2007, a rotational lightcurve of Germanicus was obtained from photometric observations by an international group of astronomers. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.1291 hours with a brightness variation of 0.13 magnitude (U=n.a.). It was also revealed that Germanicus is orbited by a minor-planet moon every 58.55 hours. The system has a high secondary-to-primary mean-diameter ratio of 0.46.[5][a] This translates into a satellite diameter of 1.48 kilometers (based on a primary-diameter of 3.23 kilometers).[6]
Naming
This minor planet was named for the ancient Roman general and poet Germanicus (15 BC – AD 19), who led several successful campaigns into Germania.[3] Germanicus was also the nephew and designated heir of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. As a poet, he wrote "Aratea", an astronomical treatise, which illustrated copy is known as the Leiden Aratea.[3] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 27 May 2010 (M.P.C. 70407).[12]
Notes
^ abCBET No. 1087, 25 September 2007 – Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams for (10208) Germanicus: Photometric observations obtained between 6 August and 18 September 2007, show that 10208 Germanicus is a binary system with an orbital period of 58.55±0.02 hours. The primary has a period of 3.3484±0.0001 hours, and it has a lightcurve brightness variation of 0.13 magnitude. Mutual eclipse/occultation events with a depth 0.21 magnitude suggest a secondary-to-primary mean-diameter ratio of 0.46±0.02.Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams No. 1716 Julian Oey, Leura Observatory, Australia; Petr Pravec and Peter Kusnirak, Ondrejov Observatory; Yu. Krugly and Vasilij Chiorny, Kharkiv Observatory, Ukraine; and John. Ries, McDonald Observatory
^ abcdOey, J.; Pravec, P.; Kusnirak, P.; Krugly, Yu.; Chiorny, V.; Ries, J. (September 2007). "(10208) 1997 QN1". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 1087 (1087): 1. Bibcode:2007CBET.1087....1O.
^ abJohnston, Robert (21 September 2014). "(10208) Germanicus". johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
^ abcdNugent, 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.
^ abcPravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026.
^ abcMasiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
^Oey, Julian (January 2016). "Lightcurve Analysis of Asteroids from Blue Mountains Observatory in 2014". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 43 (1): 45–51. Bibcode:2016MPBu...43...45O. ISSN1052-8091.