1003 Lilofee


Lilofee, provisional designation, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 33 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 September 1923, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The asteroid was named after the Black Forest mermaid "Lilofee" from German folklore.

Orbit and classification

Lilofee is a member of the Themis family, a very large family of carbonaceous, low-inclination asteroids, named after 24 Themis. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 7 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.
The asteroid was first identified as at Bergedorf Observatory in April 1915. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.

Physical characteristics

Lilofee is an assumed carbonaceous C-type asteroid, which corresponds to the overall spectral type of the Themis family.

Lightcurves

Since 2004, several rotational lightcurves of Lilofee were obtained from photometric observations by astronomers René Roy, Enric Forné and Robert Stephens. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 8.255 hours with a brightness variation of 0.57 magnitude.
In 2013, an international study modeled a lightcurve with a concurring period of 8.24991 hours and found a spin axis of in ecliptic coordinates.

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Lilofee measures between 27.29 and 36 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.07 and 0.198.
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 34.04 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 10.7.

Naming

This minor planet was named after the legendary mermaid/neck Lilofee, who lived in the small Mummelsee of the Black Forest in southwest Germany. Lilofee is also the title figure in the German folk-song The beautiful young Lilofee by August Schnezler.
The asteroid was named by the discoverer. The name was proposed by ARI-astronomer Johannes Riem, after whom 1025 Riema was named. The official naming citation was also mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955.