639 Latona is a
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
, specifically an
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
orbiting in the
asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...
. It was discovered by German astronomer
Karl Lohnert
This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth object, near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and Distant minor planet, distant ob ...
on July 19, 1907, at
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
.
Photometric observations of this asteroid at Palmer Divide Observatory in
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
, during 2007 gave a
light curve
In astronomy, a light curve is a graph (discrete mathematics), graph of the Radiance, light intensity of a celestial object or region as a function of time, typically with the magnitude (astronomy), magnitude of light received on the ''y''-axis ...
with a period of 6.139 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.08 ± 0.01 in
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
. This confirms period measurements of about 6.2 hours reported in 1987 and 2001.
This is a member of the dynamic
Eos family
The Eos family (''adj. Eoan'' ; ) is a very large asteroid family located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. This family of K-type asteroids is believed to have formed as a result of an ancient catastrophic collision. The family's parent b ...
of asteroids that most likely formed as the result of a collisional breakup of a parent body.
References
External links
Lightcurve plot of 639 Latona Palmer Divide Observatory, ''
B. D. Warner'' (2007)
Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB) query form
)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names Google books
– Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
– Minor Planet Center
*
*
Eos asteroids
Latona
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony'404–409/ref>
In the Olympian scheme, t ...
Leto
Latona
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony'404–409/ref>
In the Olympian scheme, t ...
S-type asteroids (Tholen)
19070719
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