| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. F. Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg |
| Discovery date | 26 January 1905 |
| Designations | |
| (557) Violetta | |
| Pronunciation | Italian: [vjoˈletta][1] |
| 1905 PY | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 111.25 yr (40634 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.6867 AU (401.92 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.1984 AU (328.88 Gm) |
| 2.4425 AU (365.39 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.099957 |
| 3.82 yr (1394.3 d) | |
| 79.8798° | |
| 0° 15m 29.484s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4895° |
| 292.818° | |
| 195.130° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 5.0887 h (0.21203 d)[2][3] | |
| 12.1 | |
557 Violetta is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf on 26 January 1905 in Heidelberg. In light of M. F. Wolf's penchant ca. 1905 for naming asteroids after operatic heroines, it is likely that 557 Violetta is named after the protagonist of Giuseppe Verdi's famous opera La Traviata.
Photometric observations of this asteroid made during 2008 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico, gave a light curve with a period of 5.0887 ± 0.0001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.25 ± 0.03 in magnitude.[3]