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3412 Kafka
Asteroid From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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3412 Kafka, provisional designation 1983 AU2, is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 January 1983, by American astronomers Randolph Kirk and Donald Rudy at Palomar Observatory in California, United States.[5][6] The asteroid was named after writer Franz Kafka.[2]
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Orbit and classification
Kafka orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,212 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It was first identified as 1942 YB at the Finnish Turku Observatory in 1942, extending the body's observation arc by 41 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[5]
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Physical characteristics
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kafka measures 6.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.231.[3] Kafka is a superslow rotator. Its rotation period of 2,766 hours (about 115 days) is among the longest of any known asteroid.[4][7]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Franz Kafka (1883–1924), Austrian–Czech writer of novels and short stories, in which protagonists are faced with bizarre or surrealistic situations.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 February 1987 (M.P.C. 11641).[8]
References
External links
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