1086 Nata

1086 Nata, provisional designation 1927 QL, is a carbonaceous Veritasian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 68 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 25 August 1927, by Russian astronomers Sergey Belyavsky and Nikolaj Ivanov at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula.^[12] The asteroid was named in memory of Soviet female parachutist Nata Babushkina (1915–1936).^[2]

1086 Nata

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	S. Belyavskyj N. Ivanov
Discovery site	Simeiz Obs.
Discovery date	25 August 1927
Designations
MPC designation	(1086) Nata
Named after	Nadezhda Babushkina (Soviet female parachutist)[2]
Alternative designations	1927 QL · 1925 JA A900 YB
Minor planet category	main-belt · (outer)[3] Veritas[4]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	116.27 yr (42,467 days)
Aphelion	3.3349 AU
Perihelion	2.9907 AU
Semi-major axis	3.1628 AU
Eccentricity	0.0544
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.62 yr (2,054 days)
Mean anomaly	236.41°
Mean motion	0° 10m 30.72s / day
Inclination	8.3587°
Longitude of ascending node	313.24°
Argument of perihelion	158.78°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	66.10 km (derived)[3] 66.27±4.3 km[5] 68.24±21.78 km[6] 68.48±0.83 km[7] 73.3±1.3 km[8] 79.867±1.160 km[9]
Synodic rotation period	18.074±0.002 h[10]
Geometric albedo	0.04±0.03[6] 0.0528±0.0096[9] 0.06±0.01[8] 0.0641 (derived)[3] 0.072±0.002[7] 0.0767±0.011[5]
Spectral type	SMASS = Ch[1] · C[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	9.30[5][7][8][9] · 9.5[1][3] · 9.54±0.30[11] · 9.58[6]

Orbit and classification

Nata is a member of the Veritas family, a young family of carbonaceous asteroids, that formed approximately 8.5±0.5 million years ago. The family is named after 490 Veritas and consists of nearly 1,300 members.^{[4][13]: 8, 23}

Nata orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 3.0–3.3 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,054 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

The body's observation arc begins with its first identification as A900 YB at Heidelberg Observatory in December 1900, almost 27 years prior to its official discovery observation at Simeiz.^[12]

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS classification, Nata is a Ch-subtype, a "hydrated" carbonaceous C-type asteroid.^[1]

Rotation period

In November 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Nata was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Edwin E. Sheridan at the Crescent Butte Observatory (682). Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 18.074 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.17 magnitude (U=2).^[10]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Nata measures between 66.27 and 79.867 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.04 and 0.0767.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0641 and a diameter of 66.10 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.5.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of Nadezhda Vasilievna Babushkina (1915–1936), nicknamed "Nata", a Soviet female parachutist who died in an accident at the age of 21. The minor planets (1062) and (1084), were named after paratroopers Tamara Ivanova (1912–1936) and Lyuba Berlin (1915–1936), respectively, which died just three months earlier.^[2]