186 Celuta

186 Celuta is a 50 km Main belt asteroid. It was discovered by the French astronomers Paul Henry and Prosper Henry on April 6, 1878. This was the last discovery credited to the Prosper brothers. It is classified as an S-type asteroid.

186 Celuta

3D convex shape model of 186 Celuta
Discovery
Discovered by	P. M. Henry, 1878
Discovery date	6 April 1878
Designations
MPC designation	(186) Celuta
Pronunciation	/sɛˈluːtə/
Alternative designations	A878 GA; 1954 FD
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	132.36 yr (48343 d)
Aphelion	2.7152 AU (406.19 Gm)
Perihelion	2.0084 AU (300.45 Gm)
Semi-major axis	2.3618 AU (353.32 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.14964
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.63 yr (1325.8 d)
Mean anomaly	275.22°
Mean motion	0° 16m 17.544s / day
Inclination	13.185°
Longitude of ascending node	14.769°
Argument of perihelion	315.65°
Earth MOID	1.01999 AU (152.588 Gm)
Jupiter MOID	2.71546 AU (406.227 Gm)
TJupiter	3.500
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	49.99±1.6 km
Synodic rotation period	19.842 h (0.8268 d)[1][2]
Geometric albedo	0.1929±0.013
Spectral type	SK
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.91

The asteroid is named after Céluta, a female character in two works of fiction by François-René de Chateaubriand, Atala (1801) and René (1802). The Henry brothers had already named another of their discoveries, 152 Atala, after the heroine of Atala.^[3] Both Atala and Céluta are American Indian fictional characters.^[4]

Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico during 2010 gave a light curve with a period of 19.842 ± 0.001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.54 ± 0.02 in magnitude.^[2]