152 Atala
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152 Atala is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by brothers Paul Henry and Prosper Henry on 2 November 1875, but the discovery was credited to Paul. It is a type D asteroid, meaning that it is composed of carbon, organic rich silicates and possibly water ice.
The asteroid is named for the eponymous heroine of the 1801 novella Atala by François-René de Chateaubriand.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Henry brothers also named the last of their discoveries, 186 Celuta, after another Chateaubriand heroine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Both Atala and Céluta are American Indian fictional characters.<ref>Template:Cite book; Template:Cite book</ref>
An occultation of a star by Atala was observed from Japan on 11 March 1994. Subsequent occultations have been observed as recently as 2006.Template:Citation needed
Photometric of this asteroid made in 1981 gave a light curve with a period of 5.282 ± 0.004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.50 in magnitude.<ref name="Schober1983"/>
References
External links
- Occultation of TYC 5558-01048-1 by (152) Atala on 2006 May 7 UT
- (152) Atala near opposition 5 July 2007 (2.38AU from Earth)
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