2807 Karl Marx, provisional designation 1969 TH6, is a carbonaceous Dorian asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 October 1969, by Russian astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj on the Crimean peninsula.[3] The asteroid was later named for the German philosopher Karl Marx.[2]
Orbit and classification
Dora family
Karl Marx is a member of the Dora family (512), a well-determined asteroid family of more than 1,200 known members with a carbonaceous composition. The family's namesake is 668 Dora. It is alternatively known as the "Zhongolovich family", named after its presumably largest member 1734 Zhongolovich. The Dora family may also contain a subfamily.[4][6]: 13, 23
Orbit and observation arc
It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.3–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,707 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
As of 2017, no rotational lightcurve of Karl Marx has been obtained. The body's rotation period and shape remains unknown.[1][7]
Naming
This minor planet was named after German philosopher, economist and revolutionary socialist Karl Marx (1818–1883), student of the theories about society, economics and politics, and author of Das Kapital, the foundational theoretical text of modern communist thought.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 24 July 1983 (M.P.C. 8065).[8]
^ abBroz, M.; Morbidelli, A.; Bottke, W. F.; Rozehnal, J.; Vokrouhlický, D.; Nesvorný, D. (March 2013). "Constraining the cometary flux through the asteroid belt during the late heavy bombardment". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 551: 16. arXiv:1301.6221. Bibcode:2013A&A...551A.117B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219296.