1655 Comas Solà

1655 Comas Solà, provisional designation 1929 WG, is a rare-type asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 36 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 28 November 1929, by Spanish astronomer of Catalan origin, Josep Comas i Solà at the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona, Spain.^[13] It was later named after the discoverer.^[2]

1655 Comas Solà

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	J. Comas Solà
Discovery site	Fabra Obs.
Discovery date	28 November 1929
Designations
MPC designation	(1655) Comas Solá
Named after	Josep Comas i Solà (discoverer himself)[2]
Alternative designations	1929 WG · 1929 WC1 1958 BG · A901 VG
Minor planet category	main-belt · (middle)[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	114.97 yr (41,994 days)
Aphelion	3.4357 AU
Perihelion	2.1248 AU
Semi-major axis	2.7803 AU
Eccentricity	0.2358
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.64 yr (1,693 days)
Mean anomaly	323.81°
Mean motion	0° 12m 45.36s / day
Inclination	9.6002°
Longitude of ascending node	111.14°
Argument of perihelion	323.52°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	30.57±2.1 km (IRAS:3)[4] 32.80±0.69 km[5] 35.6±3.6 km[6] 35.943±0.183[7] 39.942±0.390 km[8] 40±4 km[9]
Synodic rotation period	12 h (dated)[10] 20.4±0.1 h[11] 20.456±0.004 h[12]
Geometric albedo	0.04±0.01[9] 0.0425±0.0069[8] 0.045±0.010[7] 0.05±0.01[6] 0.065±0.003[5] 0.0726±0.011 (IRAS:3)[4]
Spectral type	XFU (Tholen)[1] B (SMASS)[1] · B[3] B–V = 0.642[1] U–B = 0.262[1]
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.04[1][3][4][5][6][8][9]

Orbit and classification

It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.1–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,693 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] It was first observed as A901 VG at Heidelberg Observatory in 1901, extending the body's observation arc by 28 years prior to its official discovery observation at Barcelona.^[13]

Physical characteristics

Comas Solà shows as rare XFU-type and B-type spectrum in the Tholen and SMASS classification scheme, respectively.^[1]

Lightcurves

A rotational lightcurve obtained by American amateur astronomer Robert Stephens gave a well-defined rotation period of 20.456 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20 magnitude (U=3).^[3][12]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Comas Solà measures between 30.57 and 40 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.04 and 0.073.^[4][5][8][9] More recently published revised WISE/NEOWISE-data gave a refined diameter of 35.6 and 35.94 kilometers, respectively.^[6][7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with IRAS, and adopts an albedo of 0.0726 with a diameter of 30.57 kilometers and an absolute magnitude of 11.04.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of its discoverer Josep Comas i Solà (1868–1937), first director of the discovering Fabra Observatory, Barcelona, capital of the Catalonia region in northeastern Spain. He was a prolific observer of minor planets and comets in the 1920s,^[2] including the periodic comet 32P/Comas Solà which is named after him.

1655 Comas Solà is one of the rare cases where a minor planet bears the name of its discoverer. Solà is also honored by the asteroid 1102 Pepita, named after his nickname, and by the 127-kilometer wide Martian crater Comas Sola.^[2] The official naming citation for 1655 Comas Solà was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 June 1980 (M.P.C. 5357).^[2][14]