{{Short description|Main-belt asteroid}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Infobox planet | minorplanet = yes | name = 1239 Queteleta | background = #D6D6D6 | image = | image_size = | caption = | discovery_ref = <ref name="jpldata" /> | discoverer = E. Delporte | discovery_site = Uccle Obs. | discovered = 4 February 1932 | mpc_name = (1239) Queteleta | alt_names = 1932 CB{{·}}{{mp|1978 TH|3}} | pronounced = {{IPA|kətlɛta}} | named_after = Adolphe Quetelet<ref name="springer" /><br />{{small|(Belgian astronomer)}} | mp_category = main-belt{{·}}{{small|(middle)}}<br />background<ref name="AstDys-object" /> | orbit_ref = <ref name="jpldata" /> | epoch = 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | uncertainty = 0 | observation_arc = 85.80 yr (31,340 d) | aphelion = 3.2824 AU | perihelion = 2.0383 AU | semimajor = 2.6603 AU | eccentricity = 0.2338 | period = 4.34 yr (1,585 days) | mean_anomaly = 271.62° | mean_motion = {{Deg2DMS|0.2271|sup=ms}} / day | inclination = 1.6619° | asc_node = 73.160° | arg_peri = 35.475° | dimensions = {{val|15.94|1.8}} km<ref name="SIMPS" /><br />{{val|18.032|0.076}} km<ref name="Masiero-2011" /> | rotation = | albedo = {{val|0.051|0.013}}<ref name="Masiero-2011" /><br />{{val|0.0695|0.019}}<ref name="SIMPS" /> | spectral_type = | abs_magnitude = 12.4<ref name="jpldata" />{{·}}12.5<ref name="SIMPS" /> }}

'''1239 Queteleta''' ({{IPA|kətlɛta}}), provisional designation {{mp|1932 CB}}, is a dark background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 February 1932, by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle.<ref name="MPC-object" /> The asteroid was named after Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian astronomer and mathematician.<ref name="springer" />

== Discovery ==

''Queteleta'' was discovered on 4 February 1932, by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle.<ref name="MPC-object" /> It was independently discovered by Louis Boyer at Algiers Observatory, Algeria, on the same night and by George Van Biesbroeck at Yerkes Observatory, United States, on 13 February 1932.<ref name="springer" /> The Minor Planet Center only recognizes the first mentioned discoverer.<ref name="MPC-object" />

== Orbit and classification ==

''Queteleta'' is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.<ref name="AstDys-object" /> It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.0–3.3&nbsp;AU once every 4 years and 4 months (1,585 days; semi-major axis of 2.66&nbsp;AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.<ref name="jpldata" /> The body's observation arc begins at with its official discovery observation at Uccle in 1932.<ref name="MPC-object" />

== Physical characteristics ==

The asteroid's spectral type has not been determined,<ref name="jpldata" /> but its low albedo ''(see below)'' is typical for that of a carbonaceous C-type asteroid.

=== Diameter and albedo ===

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, ''Queteleta'' measures 15.94 and 18.032 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.0695 and 0.051, respectively.<ref name="SIMPS" /><ref name="Masiero-2011" />

=== Rotation period, poles and shape ===

As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of ''Queteleta'' has been obtained from photometric observations. The asteroid's rotation period, shape and poles remain unknown.<ref name="jpldata" /><ref name="lcdb" />

== Naming ==

This minor planet was named after Belgian astronomer and mathematician Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874), whose research also encompassed several other scientific disciplines such as statistics, demography, sociology, criminology and the history of science. The official naming citation was mentioned in ''The Names of the Minor Planets'' by Paul Herget in 1955 ({{small|H 114}}). He was also honored by the lunar crater ''Quetelet''.<ref name="springer" />

== References == {{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="jpldata">{{cite web |type = 2017-11-24 last obs. |title = JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1239 Queteleta (1932 CB) |url = https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2001239 |publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory |access-date = 4 January 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="springer">{{cite book |title = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1239) Queteleta |last = Schmadel | first = Lutz D. |publisher = Springer Berlin Heidelberg |page = 103 |date = 2007 |isbn = 978-3-540-00238-3 |doi = 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1240 |chapter = (1239) Queteleta }}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-object">{{cite web |title = 1239 Queteleta (1932 CB) |work = Minor Planet Center |url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=1239 |access-date = 4 January 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="Masiero-2011">{{cite journal |display-authors = 6 |first1 = Joseph R. |last1 = Masiero |first2 = A. K. |last2 = Mainzer |first3 = T. |last3 = Grav |first4 = J. M. |last4 = Bauer |first5 = R. M. |last5 = Cutri |first6 = J. |last6 = Dailey |first7 = P. R. M. |last7 = Eisenhardt |first8 = R. S. |last8 = McMillan |first9 = T. B. |last9 = Spahr |first10 = M. F. |last10 = Skrutskie |first11 = D. |last11 = Tholen |first12 = R. G. |last12 = Walker |first13 = E. L. |last13 = Wright |first14 = E. |last14 = DeBaun |first15 = D. |last15 = Elsbury |first16 = T. IV |last16 = Gautier |first17 = S. |last17 = Gomillion |first18 = A. |last18 = Wilkins |date = November 2011 |title = Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters |url = http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2011ApJ...741...68M |journal = The Astrophysical Journal |volume = 741 |issue = 2 |page = 20 |bibcode = 2011ApJ...741...68M |doi = 10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68 |arxiv = 1109.4096 |access-date= 4 January 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="SIMPS">{{cite journal |first1 = E. F. |last1 = Tedesco |first2 = P. V. |last2 = Noah |first3 = M. |last3 = Noah |first4 = S. D. |last4 = Price |date = October 2004 |title = IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0 |url = https://sbnarchive.psi.edu/pds3/iras/IRAS_A_FPA_3_RDR_IMPS_V6_0/data/diamalb.tab |journal = NASA Planetary Data System |volume = 12 |pages = IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0 |bibcode = 2004PDSS...12.....T |access-date = 22 October 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="AstDys-object">{{cite web |title = Asteroid 1239 Queteleta – Proper Elements |publisher = AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site |url = https://newton.spacedys.com/astdys/index.php?pc=1.1.6&n=1239 |access-date= 29 October 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="lcdb">{{cite LCDB|number = 1239 |access-date = 4 January 2018}}</ref>

}} <!-- end of reflist -->

== External links == * [http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/lcdbsummaryquery.php Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)], query form ([http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html info] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216050541/http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html |date=16 December 2017 }}) * [https://books.google.com/books?id=aeAg1X7afOoC&pg Dictionary of Minor Planet Names], Google books * [http://obswww.unige.ch/~behrend/page_cou.html Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR] – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend * [https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/NumberedMPs000001.html Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000)] – Minor Planet Center * {{AstDys|1239}} * {{JPL small body}}

{{Minor planets navigator |1238 Predappia |number=1239 |1240 Centenaria}} {{Small Solar System bodies}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Queteleta}} 001239 Category:Discoveries by Eugène Joseph Delporte Category:Named minor planets 19320204