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]

4944 Kozlovskij
Discovery [1]
Discovered byL. Chernykh
Discovery siteCrimean Astrophysical Obs.
Discovery date2 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 arc65.41 yr (23,890 d)
Aphelion2.9170 AU
Perihelion2.5733 AU
2.7451 AU
Eccentricity0.0626
4.55 yr (1,661 d)
252.23°
0° 13m 0.12s / day
Inclination4.4903°
279.41°
84.781°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions9.25±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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "4944 Kozlovskij (1987 RP3)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(4944) Kozlovskij". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 425–426. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4826. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4944 Kozlovskij (1987 RP3)" (2017-04-28 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Asteroid 4944 Kozlovskij – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ a b c d Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117.
  7. ^ a b c d e "LCDB Data for (4944) Kozlovskij". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d 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. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
  10. ^ 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. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  11. ^ a b c Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 978-0-8165-3213-1.
  14. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 July 2017.

External links edit