| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | R. Kirk D. Rudy |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 10 January 1983 |
| Designations | |
| (3412) Kafka | |
Named after | Franz Kafka (Austrian–Czech writer)[2] |
| 1983 AU2 · 1942 YB 1977 FF3 · 1978 PA2 1978 QE1 | |
| main-belt | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 74.42 yr (27,182 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4565 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9925 AU |
| 2.2245 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1043 |
| 3.32 yr (1,212 days) | |
| 194.88° | |
| Inclination | 2.9731° |
| 307.60° | |
| 117.70° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.084±0.080 km[3] |
| 2766±40 h[4] | |
| 0.231±0.076[3] | |
| 13.4[1] | |
3412 Kafka, provisional designation 1983 AU2, is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 January 1983, by American astronomers Randolph Kirk and Donald Rudy at Palomar Observatory in California, United States.[5][6] The asteroid was named after writer Franz Kafka.[2]
Kafka orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,212 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It was first identified as 1942 YB at the Finnish Turku Observatory in 1942, extending the body's observation arc by 41 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[5]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kafka measures 6.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.231.[3] Kafka is a superslow rotator. Its rotation period of 2,766 hours (about 115 days) is among the longest of any known asteroid.[4][7]
This minor planet was named after Franz Kafka (1883–1924), Austrian–Czech writer of novels and short stories, in which protagonists are faced with bizarre or surrealistic situations.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 February 1987 (M.P.C. 11641).[8]
