Ptolemaeus is a member of the Flora family (402),[3] a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[6] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,264 days; semi-major axis of 2.29 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]
The body's observation arc begins with its observations as 1949 QD1 at Lowell Observatory on 24 August 1949, or three weeks after its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.[1] On 24 April 1989, Ptolemaeus approached the asteroid 6 Hebe within 5.5 million kilometers at a relative velocity of 3.7 km/s.[2]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Ptolemaeus measures 4.641 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.392.[4] Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, assuming a Flora-type typical albedo of 0.24, the asteroid measures 5.0 kilometers for an absolute magnitude of 13.7.[5]
This minor planet was named after 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy (Latin: "Ptolemaeus") by IAU's Minor Planet Names Committee. He is best known for his influential Almagest, a mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths. Its ideas dominated astronomy for 1200 years until Copernicus in the early Renaissance.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 21 November 1991 (M.P.C. 19335).[7]
^ abcMasiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
