319 Leona
319 Leona (provisional designation A920 HE) is a dark, carbonaceous asteroid in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 8 October 1891, by French astronomer Auguste Charlois at Nice Observatory in France. On 12 December 2023, Leona passed in front of the bright star Betelgeuse and occulted it, which caused the star to briefly dim as seen from Central America, Europe, and east Asia. This occultation was expected to reveal the shape of Leona and the surface of Betelgeuse in high detail.
The outline of Leona's shape revealed in a stellar occultation from 13 September 2023 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. Charlois |
| Discovery site | Nice Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 October 1891 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (319) Leona |
| Pronunciation | /liːˈoʊnə/ |
Named after | unknown Leona |
Alternative designations | A920 HE |
Minor planet category | main-belt · (outer) |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 125.32 yr (45,774 days) |
| Aphelion | 4.1451 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6655 AU |
Semi-major axis | 3.4053 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.2172 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 6.28 yr (2,295 days) |
Mean anomaly | 21.414° |
Mean motion | 0° 9m 24.48s / day |
| Inclination | 10.564° |
Longitude of ascending node | 184.95° |
| 228.27° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 79.6 km × 54.8 km (± 2.2 km × 1.3 km) |
Mean diameter | 66±2 km |
Synodic rotation period | 430±2 h |
| 0.085±0.005 | |
| P · X · C | |
| 10.21 10.46±0.06 | |
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