1209 Pumma, provisional designation , is a Hygiean
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
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from the outer region of the
asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, called ...
, approximately 30 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 April 1927, by German astronomer
Karl Reinmuth
Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth (4 April 1892 in Heidelberg – 6 May 1979 in Heidelberg) was a German astronomer and a prolific discoverer of 395 minor planets.
Scientific career
From 1912 to 1957, Reinmuth was working as an astronomer at the Lande ...
at
Heidelberg Observatory
Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students.
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in southwest Germany. The asteroid was named after the niece of astronomer Albrecht Kahrstedt.
Orbit and classification
''Pumma'' is a member of the
Hygiea family The Hygiea or Hygiean family is a grouping of dark, carbonaceous C-type and B-type asteroids in outer asteroid belt, the largest member of which is 10 Hygiea. About 1% of all known asteroids in the asteroid belt belong to this family.
Characteri ...
(), a very large
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
10 Hygiea
Hygiea (minor-planet designation: 10 Hygiea) is a major asteroid located in the main asteroid belt. With a mean diameter of between km and a mass estimated to be 3% of the total mass of the belt,"Mass of 10 Hygiea" 0.445 "Mass of Mbelt" 15 = 0 ...