1798 Watts
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by |
Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 April 1949 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | (1798) Watts |
|
Named after
|
Chester Watts (astronomer) |
| 1949 GC · 1934 VS 1937 RL · 1970 YB 1973 UD6 |
|
| main-belt · Flora | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 81.98 yr (29,945 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4671 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9308 AU |
| 2.1989 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1220 |
| 3.26 yr (1,191 days) | |
| 76.104° | |
| 0° 18m 8.28s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.1938° |
| 44.272° | |
| 3.8682° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions |
6.45±0.28 km 6.631±0.186 km 6.986±0.060 km 7.14 km (calculated) |
| 0.24 (assumed) 0.2765±0.0258 0.294±0.053 |
|
| SMASS = S · LS · S | |
| 12.8 · 12.9 · 13.05±0.17 | |
1798 Watts, provisional designation 1949 GC, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 April 1949, by IU's Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States.
The asteroid is a member of the Flora family, a large group of stony S-type asteroids in the inner main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,191 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.Watts was first observed and identified as 1934 VS at Yerkes Observatory in 1934, extending the body's observation arc by 15 years prior to its official discovery observation.
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Watts measures 6.63 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.276 and 0.294. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this asteroid family – and calculates a diameter of 7.14 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 12.9. As of 2017, Watts's rotation period and shape remain unknown.
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