349 Dembowska

349 Dembowska
	A three-dimensional model of 349 Dembowska based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered by	Auguste Charlois
Discovery date	9 December 1892
Designations
MPC designation	(349) Dembowska
Pronunciation	/dɛmˈbaʊskə/
Named after	Ercole Dembowski
Alternative designations	1892 T
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	123.32 yr (45044 d)
Aphelion	3.1912 AU (477.40 Gm)
Perihelion	2.65635 AU (397.384 Gm)
Semi-major axis	2.92379 AU (437.393 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.091473
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.00 yr (1826.1 d)
Mean anomaly	306.898°
Mean motion	0° 11m 49.704s / day
Inclination	8.2461°
Longitude of ascending node	32.351°
Argument of perihelion	346.225°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	139.77±4.3 km; 140 km; 145.23 ± 17.21 km
Mass	(3.58 ± 1.03) × 1018 kg
Mean density	2.23 ± 1.01 g/cm3
Synodic rotation period	4.701 h (0.1959 d); 4.701207 ± 0.000058 h
Geometric albedo	0.384 (Bright); 0.3840±0.025
Spectral type	R
Absolute magnitude (H)	5.93

349 Dembowska is a large asteroid of the main belt, discovered on 9 December 1892, by the French astronomer Auguste Charlois while working at the observatory in Nice, France.^[5] It is named in honor of the Baron Hercules Dembowski, an Italian astronomer who made significant contributions to research on double and multiple stars.

Orbiting just inside the prominent 7:3 resonance with Jupiter, 349 Dembowska is among the largest asteroids in the main belt with an estimated diameter of ~140 km.^[2] It has a rotational period of 4.7012 hours,^[2] and is classified as an R-type asteroid for the presence of strong absorption lines in olivine and pyroxene with little or no metals. It may have undergone partial melting/differentiation.^[6] 349 Dembowska has an unusually high albedo of 0.384. Of the asteroids with a diameter greater than 75 km, only 4 Vesta has a higher known albedo.^[4]

Dembowska and 16 Psyche have orbits that repeat themselves almost exactly every five years in respect to their position to the Sun and Earth.^{[citation needed]}

In 1988 a search for satellites or dust orbiting this asteroid was performed using the UH88 telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatories, but the effort came up empty.^[7] There was one occultation on 31 October 2006,^[8] and on 5 December 2007.^[9]