3040 Kozai
Asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3040 Kozai, provisional designation 1979 BA, is a stony asteroid and Mars-crosser on a tilted orbit from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter.
(Japanese astronomer)[2]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | W. Liller |
| Discovery site | Cerro Tololo Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 January 1979 |
| Designations | |
Named after | Yoshihide Kozai (Japanese astronomer)[2] |
| 1979 BA | |
| Mars-crosser[1][3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 38.36 yr (14,011 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.2096 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.4717 AU |
| 1.8406 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2004 |
| 2.50 yr (912 days) | |
| 213.41° | |
| Inclination | 46.640° |
| 143.51° | |
| 290.19° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4–11 km (conversion)[4] |
| SMASS = S[1] | |
| 13.8[1] | |
The asteroid was discovered by American astronomer William Liller at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, on 23 January 1979, and named after Japanese astronomer Yoshihide Kozai.[2][3] It is considered a classical example of an object submitted to the Kozai effect, induced by an outer perturber, which in this case is the gas giant Jupiter.[5]
Orbit and classification
Kozai orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.5–2.2 AU once every 2 years and 6 months (912 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 47° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
On 10 January 2044, the asteroid will make a close approach to Mars, passing the Red Planet at a distance of 0.034 AU (5,090,000 km).[1]
Physical characteristics
In the SMASS classification, Kozai is a common S-type asteroid.[1] As of 2017, little is known about its size, composition, albedo and rotation.[1][6]
With an absolute magnitude of 13.8, Kozai's diameter can be estimated to measure between 4 and 11 kilometers, for an assumed albedo in the range of 0.05–0.25.[4] Since Kozai is a brighter S-type asteroid rather than a darker carbonaceous body, its diameter is on the lower end of NASA's generic conversion table, as the larger the body's diameter, the lower its albedo at a constant absolute magnitude.[4]
Naming
This minor planet was named in honour of 20th-century Japanese astronomer Yoshihide Kozai, discoverer of the periodic comet D/1977 C1 (Skiff-Kosai) and of the Kozai mechanism.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 July 1985 (M.P.C. 9770).[7]
