323 Brucia

Discovery
Discovered by	Max Wolf
Discovery date	December 22, 1891
Designations
Alternate name	A923 JA; 1934 JC [1]
Minor planet category	Main belt (Mars-crosser)
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5)
Aphelion	463.848 Gm (3.101 AU)
Perihelion	248.71 Gm (1.663 AU)
Semi-major axis	356.279 Gm (2.382 AU)
Eccentricity	0.302
Orbital period	1342.443 d (3.68 a)
Average orbital speed	18.9 km/s
Mean anomaly	313.443°
Inclination	24.227°
Longitude of ascending node	97.463°
Argument of perihelion	291.344°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	35.8 km
Mass	4.8×1016 kg
Mean density	2? g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity	0.010 m/s²
Escape velocity	0.019 km/s
Rotation period	0.394 d (9.46 h) [2]
Albedo	0.1765 [3]
Temperature	~176 K
Spectral type	S
Absolute magnitude (H)	9.73

323 Brucia (pronounced /ˈbruːsiə/ brew'-see-ə, or /ˈbruːʃə/ brew'-shə) was the first asteroid to be discovered by the use of astrophotography. It was also the first of over 200 asteroids discovered by Max Wolf, a pioneer in that method of finding astronomical objects. Discovered in 1891, it was named in honour of Catherine Wolfe Bruce, a noted patroness of the science of astronomy, who had donated $10.000 for the construction of the telescope used by Wolf.

It is also a Mars-crosser asteroid.