File:352Gisela_(Lightcurve_Inversion).png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
352 Gisela is a main-belt asteroid located in the asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on January 12, 1893, by Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. The object carries the provisional designations A893 AB, 1950 XT, and A895 XA. In the sequence of minor planets, it follows 351 Yrsa.
Physically, 352 Gisela is classified as an S-type asteroid with a diameter of 26.744 kilometers. Its surface albedo is 0.195, and it has an absolute magnitude of 10.11. The asteroid completes one rotation in 7.49 hours.
Orbitally, the body has a semi-major axis of 2.194161306465698 astronomical units. Its orbit exhibits an eccentricity of 0.1492782638830615 and an inclination of 3.384619538200737 degrees. The periapsis is 1.866620715957108 astronomical units, while the apoapsis is 2.521701896974287 astronomical units.
Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, NASA, Jpl Sbdb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Picture of the Day · NASA

Pathfinder on Mars
2026-07-04
On July 4th, 1997, using its own array of fireworks, a parachute, and a cocoon of airbags, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft bounced like a giant beach ball at least 15 times before it came to rest on the surface of Mars at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time. After its then novel airbag-assisted landing sequence was completed, Pathfinder transmitted this color mosaic to mission operators on Earth. In the scene from another world, the Mars Sojourner robot rover is visible in the foreground, crouched on top of the unfolded Pathfinder. About the size of a large house cat, the six-wheeled, solar-powered Sojourner became the first successful Martian rover. Surrounding Pathfinder are deflated airbags and the rock-strewn terrain of the Ares Vallis floodplain. In the distance Martian hills appear against a dusty brownish sky. The Pathfinder lander was subsequently renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station.
via NASA APOD
Small body data
352 Gisela (A893 AB)
- Orbit class
- Main-belt Asteroid
- Diameter
- 26.744 km
- Albedo
- 0.195
- Rotation period
- 7.490 h
- Absolute magnitude
- 10.100 H
- Earth MOID
- 0.873 AU
via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Max Wolf
- Discovery date
- 12 January 1893
- Pronunciation
- German: [ ˈɡiːzəlaː ]
- Alternative designations
- 1893 B; A895 XA;, 1950 XT
- Minor planet category
- Main belt ( Flora family )
- Observation arc
- 117.47 yr (42905 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.52149 AU (377.210 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 1.86634 AU (279.200 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.19392 AU (328.206 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.250 yr (1,186.9 d) 3.25 yr (1186.9 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 74.6135 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 18 11.88 / day
- Inclination
- 3.38092°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 247.353°
- Argument of perihelion
- 144.194°
- Dimensions
- 20.27 ± 2.9 km
- Mean density
- ~2.7 g/cm
- Synodic rotation period
- 7.4796 ± 0.0002 h (0.3116500 ± 8.3 × 10 d )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- 353 Ruperto-Carola
- Follows
- 351 Yrsa
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- 26.744
- Orbital period
- 1187.138131642385
- Image
- 352Gisela (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 19 more facts
- discoverer or inventor
- Max Wolf
- site of astronomical discovery
- Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory
- provisional designation
- A895 XA
- time of discovery or invention
- 1893-01-12
- asteroid spectral type
- S-type asteroid
- orbital inclination
- 3.384619538200737
- Commons category
- 352 Gisela
- albedo
- 0.195
- rotation period
- 7.49
- absolute magnitude
- 10.11
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.1492782638830615
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 2.194161306465698
- periapsis
- 1.866620715957108
- apoapsis
- 2.521701896974287
- longitude of ascending node
- 247.2057338161841
- argument of periapsis
- 144.6783250563127
- mean anomaly
- 25.26399363102552
- time of periapsis
- 2460917.1893050084
- epoch
- November 21, 2025
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
352 Gisela is an asteroid belonging to the Flora family in the Main Belt that has an unusually high albedo. It was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf on 12 January 1893 in Heidelberg, and named after his wife. This minor planet is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.19 AU with a period of 3.250 yr and an orbital eccentricity of 0.149. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 3.38° to the plane of the ecliptic.
Photometric measurements of 352 Gisela during December 1999 were used to produce a light curve showing a sinodic rotation period of 7.49±0.01 h with a brightness variation of 0.32 in magnitude. This period estimate was refined to 7.4796±0.0002 h in 2012.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “352 Gisela” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.