19139 Apian
asteroid
19139 Apian (provisional designation 1989 GJ8) is a bright background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 April 1989, by German astronomer Freimut Börngen at the Karl Schwarzschild Observatory in Tautenburg, Eastern Germany. The asteroid was named for medieval German humanist Petrus Apianus.
Orbit and classification
Apian is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.4–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,516 days; semi-major axis of 2.58 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.
The body's observation arc begins with a precovery published in the Digitized Sky Survey and taken at Palomar Observatory in February 1989, approximately 2 months prior to its official discovery observation at Tautenburg.
Physical characteristics
The asteroid's spectral type is unknown. Based on its albedo (see below), it is a stony rather than carbonaceous asteroid.
Rotation period
As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Apian has been obtained from photometric observations.
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