3785 Kitami

3785 Kitami
Discovery [1]
Discovered by T. Seki
Discovery site Geisei Observatory
Discovery date 30 November 1986
Designations
MPC designation 3785 Kitami
Named after
 Kitami
(Japanese city)[2]
1986 WM · 1934 TG
1957 UM · 1979 OO2
1980 UU
main-belt (outer) · Themis [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 36.79 yr (13,436 days)
Aphelion 3.7814 AU
Perihelion 2.6844 AU
3.2329 AU
Eccentricity 0.1697
5.81 yr (2,123 days)
75.531°
0° 10m 10.56s / day
Inclination 1.9226°
151.04°
236.72°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 17.06 km (calculated)[3]
20.536±0.187 km[4]
3.7992±0.0004 h[5]
0.0664±0.0133[4]
0.08 (assumed)[3]
C [3][6]
12.0[4]
12.11±0.18[6]
12.2[1][3]

    3785 Kitami, provisional designation 1986 WM, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Japanese astronomer Tsutomu Seki at Geisei Observatory on 30 November 1986.[7]

    The C-type asteroid is a member of the Themis family, a dynamical family of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 10 months (2,123 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first observation was made at Simeiz Observatory in 1934, and the first used precovery was taken at the Australian Siding Spring Observatory in 1979, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery date.[7]

    In December 2009, a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations by amateur astronomer René Roy at his at Blauvac Observatory, France. The light-curve gave a rotation period of 3.7992±0.0004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30 in magnitude (U=3-).[5]

    Based on the survey carried out by NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 20.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.066,[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 17.1 kilometers.[3]

    The minor planet is named for the Japanese city of Kitami, where the Kitami Observatory – known for its many astrometric observations of small Solar System bodies by amateur astronomers – is located. Kitami is a "friendship city" of the discoverer’s own city of Kochi (also see 2396 Kochi), and is located on the island on Hokkaido, after which the minor planet 3720 Hokkaido is named.[2] Naming citation was published on 27 August 1988 (M.P.C. 13482).[8]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3785 Kitami (1986 WM)" (2016-04-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3785) Kitami. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 320. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (3785) Kitami". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 3 August 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 4 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:1109.6407Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
    5. 1 2 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (3785) Kitami". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
    6. 1 2 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:1506.00762Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
    7. 1 2 "3785 Kitami (1986 WM)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
    8. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 August 2016.

    External links

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