1879 Broederstroom


1879 Broederstroom, provisional designation, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 October 1935, by Dutch astronomer Hendrik van Gent at the Leiden Southern Station, annex to the Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa. The asteroid was named after the South African village of Broederstroom.

Orbit and classification

Broederstroom is a member of the Flora family. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.
No precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Johannesburg in 1935.

Physical characteristics

Broederstroom has been characterized as a common stony S-type asteroid.

Lightcurves

In January 2007, a rotational lightcurve obtained by Italian amateur astronomer Antonio Vagnozzi gave a well-defined rotation period of 3.01555 hours with a brightness variation of 0.11 magnitude. In Spring 2014, photometry at the Palomar Transient Factory in California gave two lightcurves with a period of 3.016 and 3.02 hours and an amplitude of 0.12 magnitude.

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, Broederstroom measures 7.444 and 7.66 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.242 and 0.319, respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link, assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from the asteroid 8 Flora, the family's principal body and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 7.14 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.42.

Naming

This minor planet was named after the village Broederstroom located in the North West province of South Africa. The Leiden Southern Observatory was later located near this town for 25 years until 1982. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 April 1982.