1672 Gezelle

1672 Gezelle, provisional designation, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 27 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 January 1935, by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium. It was later named after Flemish poet and Roman Catholic priest Guido Gezelle.

Orbit and classification

The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.3–4.0 AU once every 5 years and 8 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.28 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic. Gezelle's first identification as at Heidelberg Observatory remained unused. Its observation arc begins 9 days after its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

Astronomer James W. Brinsfield obtained a rotational lightcurve of Gezelle at the Via Capote Observatory in October 2008. It gave a well defined rotation period of 40.72 hours with a brightness variation of 0.56 magnitude. In 2016, similar periods of 40.6821 and 40.6824 hours were obtained from modeled photometric observations derived from the Lowell Photometric Database and other sources.

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Gezelle measures between 26.21 and 26.56 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.055 and 0.093. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 27.90 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.5.

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of famous Flemish poet and Roman Catholic priest Guido Gezelle, who wrote extensively on religion and nature. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 April 1982.