790 Pretoria is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by English astronomer Harry Edwin Wood on January 16, 1912. It is a member of the Cybele group located beyond the core of the main belt[4] (see Minor planet groups) and named after Pretoria, the capital city of South Africa.

790 Pretoria
Discovery
Discovered byH. E. Wood
Discovery siteJohannesburg Observatory
Discovery date16 January 1912
Designations
(790) Pretoria
Pronunciation/prɪˈtɔːriə/[1]
1912 NW
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc92.04 yr (33619 d)
Aphelion3.9279 AU (587.61 Gm)
Perihelion2.8955 AU (433.16 Gm)
3.4117 AU (510.38 Gm)
Eccentricity0.15130
6.30 yr (2301.7 d)
87.1149°
0° 9m 23.04s / day
Inclination20.526°
252.032°
38.637°
Physical characteristics
85.185±1.3 km[2]
80.49 ± 5.58 km[3]
Mass(4.58 ± 0.28) × 1018 kg[3]
Mean density
2.09 ± 0.45 g/cm3[3]
10.37 h (0.432 d)
0.0384±0.001
8.00

10μ radiometric data collected from Kitt Peak in 1975 gave a diameter estimate of 175 km.[5] In the present day it is estimated to be 170 km (106 mi) in diameter.[2] Photometric measurements of the asteroid made in 2005 at the Palmer Divide Observatory showed a light curve with a period of 10.370 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.08 ± 0.03 in magnitude.[6]

790 Pretoria has been observed to occult 15 stars between 1998 and 2023.

References

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  1. ^ "Pretoria". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  2. ^ a b c "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 790 Pretoria (1912 NW)" (2009-12-21 last obs). Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, 73 (1): 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009, S2CID 119226456. See Table 1.
  4. ^ De Prá, M. N.; et al. (September 2018), "PRIMASS visits Hilda and Cybele groups", Icarus, 311: 35–51, arXiv:1711.02071, Bibcode:2018Icar..311...35D, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.11.012, S2CID 119383924.
  5. ^ Morrison, D.; Chapman, C. R. (March 1976), "Radiometric diameters for an additional 22 asteroids", Astrophysical Journal, vol. 204, pp. 934–939, Bibcode:2008mgm..conf.2594S, doi:10.1142/9789812834300_0469.
  6. ^ Warner, Brian D. (2005), "Asteroid lightcurve analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory - winter 2004-2005", The Minor Planet Bulletin, 32 (3): 54–58, Bibcode:2005MPBu...32...54W.
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