1053 Vigdis


1053 Vigdis, provisional designation, is a bright background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 16 November 1925, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in Heidelberg, Germany. The meaning of the asteroids's name is unknown.

Orbit and classification

Vigdis is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.4–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 3 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid was first observed at Algiers Observatory on 15 November 1925. The body's observation arc begins at Heidelberg with its official discovery observation the following night.

Physical characteristics

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Vigdis measures 9.110 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.389. As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Vigdis has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.

Naming

Any reference of this minor planet's name to a person or occurrence is unknown. "Vigdis" is an
antiquated female first name used in Scandinavia and Iceland.

Unknown meaning

Among the many thousands of named minor planets, Vigdis is one of 120 asteroids for which no official naming citation has been published. All of these asteroids have low numbers between and and were discovered between 1876 and the 1930s, predominantly by astronomers Auguste Charlois, Johann Palisa, Max Wolf and Karl Reinmuth.