150 Nuwa

150 Nuwa is a large main-belt asteroid with an orbital period of 5.15 years. It was discovered by Canadian-American astronomer James Craig Watson on 18 October 1875,^[6] and named after Nüwa, the Chinese creator goddess. This object is a candidate member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.^[7] Based upon the spectrum it is classified as a C-type asteroid,^[8] which indicates that it is probably composed of primitive carbonaceous chondritic material and the surface is exceedingly dark.

150 Nuwa

3D convex shape model of 150 Nuwa
Discovery
Discovered by	J. C. Watson
Discovery date	18 October 1875
Designations
MPC designation	(150) Nuwa
Pronunciation	/ˈnjuːwɑː/[citation needed]
Named after	Nüwa
Alternative designations	A875 UA; 1908 AL; 2002 JR70
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	116.94 yr (42714 d)
Aphelion	3.3586 AU (502.44 Gm)
Perihelion	2.6084 AU (390.21 Gm)
Semi-major axis	2.9835 AU (446.33 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.12573
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.15 yr (1882.3 d)
Mean anomaly	138.03°
Mean motion	0° 11m 28.536s / day
Inclination	2.1937°
Longitude of ascending node	206.21°
Argument of perihelion	151.84°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	151.13±4.5 km[1] 146.54 ± 9.15 km[2]
Mass	(1.62 ± 0.20) × 1018 kg[2]
Mean density	0.98 ± 0.22 g/cm3[2]
Synodic rotation period	8.14 hours[3] 8.1347 h (0.33895 d)[1][4]
Geometric albedo	0.0395±0.002
Spectral type	C[5]
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.23

Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Catania Astrophysical Observatory during 1992 and 1993 gave a light curve with a period of 8.140 ± 0.005 hours.^[3] In 2004, an additional photometric study was performed at Swilken Brae Observatory in St Andrews, Fife, yielding a probable period of 8.1364 ± 0.0008 hours and a brightness variation of 0.26 ± 0.03 in magnitude.^[9] A 2011 study from Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico gave a period of 8.1347 ± 0.0001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.17 ± 0.02 magnitude, which is consistent with prior results.^[4]

On 17 December 1999, a star was occulted by Nuwa.^{[citation needed]}