Libussa (
minor planet designation
A formal minor-planet designation is, in its final form, a number–name combination given to a minor planet (asteroid, centaur, trans-Neptunian object and dwarf planet but not comet). Such designation always features a leading number (catalog or ...
: 264 Libussa) is a
Main belt 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.
...
that was discovered by
C. H. F. Peters
Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters (September 19, 1813 – July 18, 1890) was a German–American university teacher and astronomer at the Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College, New York, and a pioneer in the study and visual discovery of ...
on December 22, 1886, in
Clinton, New York and was named after
Libussa, the legendary founder of
Prague.
It is classified as an
S-type asteroid.
Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Organ Mesa Observatory in
Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 2008 gave an asymmetrical, bimodal
light curve with a period of 9.2276 ± 0.0002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.33 ± 0.03 in
magnitude.
Observation from the
W. M. Keck Observatory show an
angular size of 57 mas, which is close to the resolution limit of the instrument. The estimated maximum size of the asteroid is about 66 ± 7 km. It has an asymmetrical shape with a size ratio of more than 1.22 between the major and minor axes.
Between 2005 and 2021, 264 Libussa has been observed to
occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
five stars.
References
External links
The Asteroid Orbital Elements DatabaseAsteroid Lightcurve Data File*
*
Background asteroids
Libussa
Libussa
S-type asteroids (Tholen)
S-type asteroids (SMASS)
18861222
Objects observed by stellar occultation
{{S-beltasteroid-stub