4790 Petrpravec (prov. designation: 1988 PP) is a carbonaceous background asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 9 August 1988, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California, and later named for Czech astronomer Petr Pravec.[1]

4790 Petrpravec
Shape model of Petrpravec from its lightcurve
Discovery [1]
Discovered byE. F. Helin
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date9 August 1988
Designations
(4790) Petrpravec
Named after
Petr Pravec[1]
(Czech astronomer)
1988 PP · 1978 EA1
main-belt[1][2] · (middle)
background[3] · Eunomia[4]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc40.21 yr (14,685 d)
Aphelion2.8502 AU
Perihelion2.4002 AU
2.6252 AU
Eccentricity0.0857
4.25 yr (1,554 d)
80.278°
0° 13m 54.12s / day
Inclination12.720°
131.48°
84.770°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
14.40±4.13 km[5]
14.53±1.05 km[6]
16.16±4.77 km[7]
16.217±0.096 km[8]
17.160±5.818 km[9]
17.62±1.5 km[10]
undetermined[11]
0.0336±0.0384[9]
0.038±0.007[8]
0.047±0.042[7]
0.05±0.04[5]
0.1084±0.021[10]
0.160±0.024[6]
C (Pan-STARRS)[4][12]
C (SDSS-MOC)[13][14]
11.80[6][10]
12.8[7]
12.90[7]
13.0[1][2]
13.15[9]
13.15±0.18[12]
13.17[5]

Orbit and classification edit

Petrpravec is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements.[3] Based on osculating Keplerian orbital elements, the asteroid has also been classified as a member of the Eunomia family (502), a prominent family of stony S-type asteroid and the largest one in the intermediate main belt with more than 5,000 members.[4]

It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.4–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,554 days; semi-major axis of 2.63 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as 1978 EA1 at Crimea–Nauchnij in March 1978, more than 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[1]

Naming edit

This minor planet was named after Petr Pravec (born 1967), a Czech astronomer and prolific photometrist of comets, near-Earth and binary asteroids. He has often been the first person to observe objects found in the course of the discoverer's Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program following their tentative announcement in the Minor Planet Center's (MPC) "NEO Confirmation Page". The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 June 1997 on the occasion of his marriage with Kateřina Macháčová the following day (M.P.C. 30095).[1][15]

Physical characteristics edit

In the SDSS-based taxonomy, Petrpravec is a poorly determined, carbonaceous C-type asteroid.[13][14] It has also been characterized as a dark C-type by Pan-STARRS' survey.[4][12]

Rotation period edit

A rotational lightcurve of Petrpravec from photometric observations at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory in February 2012, gave a brightness variation of only 0.02 magnitude and was insufficient to determine a rotation period.[4][11]

Diameter and albedo edit

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, Petrpravec measures between 14.4 and 17.6 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.0336 and 0.160.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0369 and a diameter of 17.37 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.0.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "4790 Petrpravec (1988 PP)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4790 Petrpravec (1988 PP)" (2018-05-19 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Asteroid (4790) Petrpravec – Proper elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (4790) Petrpravec". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T.; et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 12. arXiv:1606.08923. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...63N. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63.
  6. ^ a b c d Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
  7. ^ a b c d e Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. S2CID 46350317.
  8. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID 118745497.
  9. ^ a b c d Masiero, Joseph R.; Nugent, C.; Mainzer, A. K.; Wright, E. L.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; et al. (October 2017). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Three: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 154 (4): 10. arXiv:1708.09504. Bibcode:2017AJ....154..168M. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa89ec.
  10. ^ a b c d Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System. 12: IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  11. ^ a b Moravec, Patricia; Cochren, Joseph; Gerhardt, Michael; Harris, Andrew; Karnemaat, Ryan; Melton, Elizabeth; et al. (October 2012). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory: 2012 January-April" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 39 (4): 213–216. Bibcode:2012MPBu...39..213M. ISSN 1052-8091. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  12. ^ a b c Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. S2CID 53493339.
  13. ^ a b Carvano, J. M.; Hasselmann, P. H.; Lazzaro, D.; Mothé-Diniz, T. (February 2010). "SDSS-based taxonomic classification and orbital distribution of main belt asteroids". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 510: 12. Bibcode:2010A&A...510A..43C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913322. Retrieved 30 October 2019. (PDS data set)
  14. ^ a b "Asteroid 4790 Petrpravec". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  15. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 June 2018.

External links edit