377 Campania

377 Campania is a large asteroid located in the main [asteroid belt]. It was discovered by French astronomer Auguste Charlois on 20 September 1893 in Nice, and it was named after the Italian region of Campania. It is around in diameter and rotates relatively slowly with a rotation period of 11.66 hours.

Discovery and naming

Campania was discovered by astronomer Auguste Charlois on 20 September 1893 in Nice Observatory. Its discovery, alongside that of three other asteroids, was announced on 22 September in the journal Astronomische Nachrichten under the provisional designation . It was given the name Campania, after the Italian coastal region of Campania.
In 1925, the old-style scheme for minor planet provisional designations was replaced by the new-style scheme that is now currently in use. The Minor Planet Center has since retroactively revised pre-1925 designations to conform to the new-style scheme. Thus, Campania's old-style designation given upon its discovery was changed to .

Orbit

Campania orbits the Sun with an average distance—its semi-major axis—of 2.69 astronomical units, placing it in the main asteroid belt. Along its 4.41 year long orbit, its distance from the Sun varies between 2.49 AU at perihelion to 2.89 AU at aphelion due to its orbital eccentricity of 0.08. Its orbit is inclined by 6.68° with respect to the ecliptic plane.

Physical characteristics

Campania is estimated to be in diameter. It has a geometric albedo of 0.06, and it is classified as either a PD-type asteroid under the Tholen classification scheme or a Ch-type asteroid under the Small Main-belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey, [Phase II (SMASSII) classification] scheme.
Early attempts at determining Campania's rotation period from its lightcurve—variations in its observed brightness—often yielded conflicting results. In 1994, a team of astronomers led by H. J. Schober used observations of Campania taken by the European Southern Observatory in 1983, suggesting a rotation period close to 12 or 18 hours. The team noted that its lightcurve appeared to peak at the same time every night. Photometric observations conducted by the Torino Observatory in Italy in 1990–1991 determined a synodic rotation period of 8.507 ± 0.003 hours. In 1995, a study led by M.-C. Hainaut-Rouelle utilized ESO observations taken in 1990 to derive a rotation period hours. Then, in 1998, astronomers C. Blanco and D. Riccioli used the amplitude–magnitude method to three nights of observations taken in August 1992 to derive a period of hours.
In 1999, a team of astronomers led by A. Marciniak began a series of observation campaigns during Campania's apparitions. By 2007 they were able to conclude that Campania has a relatively long period of hours. Campania has ambiguous ecliptic pole coordinates of or, and it rotates in a prograde motion|prograde] direction.