29th Largest Asteroid, 702 Alauda

702 Alauda is a large asteroid and the 29th largest asteroid currently known.

Discovery

702 Alauda was discovered on 16 July 1910 by Joseph Helffrich at Heidelberg.

Naming

Alauda the asteroid was named after the Alaudidae family of birds (the larks).

Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark.

Stats

Diameter (mean): 195 km
Aphelion: 3.261 AU
Perihelion: 3.129 AU
Semi-major axis: 3.195 AU
Orbital Period: 5.71 years
Rotation period: 8.35 hrs
Date discovered: 1910.7.16
Class: C
Satellite: 1
Group: Alauda Group
Type: Main-belt Asteroid
(data from JPL Small-Body Database)

Satellite

Alauda's satellite, Pichi üñëm, was discovered in 2007 from observations using adaptive-optics imaging with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 8-m Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal, Chile.

Orbital characteristics

Alauda has been identified as the largest member of a dynamical family. Alauda's moon may be a result of the collision that created the asteroid family.

Physical characteristics

The discovery of Alauda's moon enabled Alauda's mass to be determined. Rojo and Margot (2010) have estimated its mass to be 6.06×1018 kg with a density of 1.57 g/cm³.

Star Occultations

Alauda has been observed to occult stars on several occasions, providing important information on its size and shape. Alauda produced occultations on 2001-07-12 (on SAO 188447) and 2009-10-17 (on TYC 1920-00620-1).