4944 Kozlovskij
Asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4944 Kozlovskij, provisional designation 1987 RP3, is a carbonaceous Witt asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 September 1987, by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean Peninsula.[1] The asteroid was named for Russian opera singer Ivan Kozlovsky.[2]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Chernykh |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Obs. |
| Discovery date | 2 September 1987 |
| Designations | |
| (4944) Kozlovskij | |
Named after | Ivan Kozlovsky[2] (Russian opera singer) |
| 1987 RP3 · 1978 VK13 1985 DP2 · 1991 NX7 | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (middle) Witt[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 65.41 yr (23,890 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.9170 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5733 AU |
| 2.7451 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0626 |
| 4.55 yr (1,661 d) | |
| 252.23° | |
| 0° 13m 0.12s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.4903° |
| 279.41° | |
| 84.781° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 9.25±1.11 km[5] 9.89±2.71 km[6] 9.91 km (calculated)[7] 10.85±2.35 km[8] 11.125±0.083 km[9][10] |
| 3.573±0.0006 h[11] | |
| 0.057 (assumed)[7] 0.061±0.006[9][10] 0.086±0.032[8] 0.09±0.09[6] 0.157±0.038[5] | |
| SMASS = Cb[3] · C[7] | |
| 12.80[5] · 13.1[8][9] · 13.20[6] · 13.297±0.003 (R)[11] · 13.3[3] · 13.42±0.25[12] · 13.75[7] | |
Classification
Kozlovskij is a member of the Witt family (535),[4] a large family of (predominantly) stony asteroids with more than 1,600 known members.[13] It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.6–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,661 days; semi-major axis of 2.75 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The asteroid's observation arc begins 36 years prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in December 1951.[1]
Physical characteristics
In the SMASS classification, Kozlovskij is a Cb-type asteroid, an intermediary between the carbonaceous C-type and the somewhat brighter B-type asteroids.[3]
Lightcurves
In October 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Kozlovskij was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.573 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.46 magnitude (U=2).[11]
Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Kozlovskij measures 9.25 and 9.89 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.157 and 0.09, respectively.[5][6] Preliminary WISE results gave a larger diameter of 10.85 and 11.125 kilometers with lower albedo of 0.086 and 0.061, respectively.[8][9][10]
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 9.91 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.75.[7]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Russian opera singer Ivan Kozlovsky (1900–1993), who was a rare lyric tenor and a popular singer in the former Soviet Union.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 September 1993 (M.P.C. 22504).[14]
