Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 23, 2026

1346 Gotha

1346 Gotha, provisional designation 1929 CY, is a stony background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 5 February 1929, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The presumed S-type asteroid has a short rotation period of 2.6 hours. It was named for the German city of Gotha, located in Thuringia.

Last revised
Jul 23, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
Length
808 w
Citations
39
Source
Wikipedia ↗
1346 Gotha
Discovery1
Discovered byK. Reinmuth
Discovery siteHeidelberg Obs.
Discovery date5 February 1929
Designations
Named after
Gotha2
(German city in Thuringia)
1929 CY · 1931 RC1
1948 PL1 · 1952 OC
main-belt · (middle)3
background4 · Eunomia5
Orbital characteristics6
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc90.53 yr (33,065 d)
Aphelion3.0948 AU
Perihelion2.1599 AU
2.6274 AU
Eccentricity0.1779
4.26 yr (1,556 d)
147.30°
0° 13m 53.04s / day
Inclination13.849°
166.12°
250.00°
Physical characteristics
13.731±0.120 km7
13.747±0.325 km8
2.64067±0.00002 h39
0.278±0.0097
0.2794±0.04118
S (est.)310
B–V = 0.8406
11.256
11.323810
11.41

1346 Gotha, provisional designation 1929 CY, is a stony background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 5 February 1929, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany.1 The presumed S-type asteroid has a short rotation period of 2.6 hours.3 It was named for the German city of Gotha, located in Thuringia.2

Orbit and classification

Based on the hierarchical clustering method, Gotha is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population (Nesvorny),4 but it has also been considered a core member of the Eunomia family by Novakovic, Knezevic and Milani.5 It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,556 days; semi-major axis of 2.63 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic.6 The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Heidelberg in 1929.1

Naming

This minor planet was named after the city of Gotha, located near Erfurt capital of the Free State of Thuringia, Germany. The asteroids 1254 Erfordia and 934 Thüringia are also named after these places. The city is known for its Gotha Observatory and the work of astronomer Franz Xaver von Zach (1754–1832), who recovered the dwarf planet Ceres and after whom 999 Zachia was named. The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 122).2

Physical characteristics

Gotha has been estimated to be a stony S-type asteroid.310

Rotation period

Several rotational lightcurves of Gotha have been obtained from photometric observations since 1984.39101112 Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated rotation period of 2.64067 hours with a brightness variation between 0.10 and 0.16 magnitude (U=3-).3

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Gotha measures between 13.731 and 13.747 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.278 and 0.2794.78 The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 16.18 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.32.3

References

References

  1. "1346 Gotha (1929 CY)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1346) Gotha". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1346) Gotha. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 109. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1347. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. "MinorPlanet.info: One Asteroid Information". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Search using Number = "1346"
  4. "Small Bodies Data Ferret". Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  5. "Asteroid 1346 Gotha – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  6. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1346 Gotha (1929 CY)" (2019-08-17 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  7. Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  8. Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
  9. Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1346) Gotha". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  10. Binzel, R. P. (October 1987). "A photoelectric survey of 130 asteroids". Icarus. 72 (1): 135–208. Bibcode:1987Icar...72..135B. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(87)90125-4. ISSN 0019-1035. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  11. Aznar Macias, Amadeo (January 2017). "Lightcurve Analysis from APT Observatory Group for Nine Mainbelt Asteroids: 2016 July–September. Rotation Period and Physical Parameters". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 44 (1): 60–63. Bibcode:2017MPBu...44...60A. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  12. Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
External links