1014 Semphyra

1014 Semphyra
Discovery
Discovered by	K. Reinmuth
Discovery site	Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date	29 January 1924
Designations
MPC designation	(1014) Semphyra
Named after	figure in poem; by Aleksandr Pushkin
Alternative designations	1924 PW · 1932 WH; 1984 YP6
Minor planet category	main-belt · (middle)
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	93.02 yr (33,975 days)
Aphelion	3.3624 AU
Perihelion	2.2443 AU
Semi-major axis	2.8034 AU
Eccentricity	0.1994
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.69 yr (1,714 days)
Mean anomaly	332.39°
Mean motion	0° 12m 36s / day
Inclination	2.2681°
Longitude of ascending node	251.71°
Argument of perihelion	233.24°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	14.89±3.58 km; 17.17±0.88 km; 17.487±0.250 km; 23.21 km (calculated)
Synodic rotation period	5.636±0.002 h
Geometric albedo	0.057 (assumed); 0.083±0.013; 0.0835±0.0130; 0.087±0.009; 0.12±0.06
Spectral type	SMASS = Xe · P · X
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.90 · 12.04±0.15 · 12.10

1014 Semphyra, provisional designation 1924 PW, is a background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 January 1924, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.^[10] The asteroid was named after the character "Semphyra" in a poem by Aleksandr Pushkin.^[2] (Zemfira, "The Gypsies")

Orbit and classification

Semphyra has not been associated with any known asteroid family. It orbits the Sun in the central main belt at a distance of 2.2–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,714 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.^[10]

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS classification, Semphyra is an Xe-subtype that transitions from the X-type to the bright E-type asteroids, while the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer characterizes it as a dark P-type.^[1]^[3]^[7]

Rotation period

In February 2004, a rotational lightcurve of Semphyra was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Donald Pray at the Carbuncle Hill Observatory, Rhode Island (I00). The observations were made at a low phase angle of 1.6–2.9°. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 5.636 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.12 magnitude (U=3), indicating that the body has a rather spheroidal shape.^[8]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE, Semphyra measures between 14.89 and 17.487 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.083 and 0.12.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 23.21 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.9.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after the character "Semphyra" in a poem by Russian Aleksandr Pushkin (1799–1837), who was directly honored with the naming of (2208). The asteroid's official name was proposed by N. Komendantov (RI 740) and mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 97).^[2]