 Orbit ofDonizetti (blue) with theinner planets andJupiter (outermost) | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 16 October 1977 |
| Designations | |
| (9912) Donizetti | |
Named after | Gaetano Donizetti (Italian composer)[2] |
| 2078 T-3 · 1979 BH1 1989 SJ10 | |
| main-belt · (middle) · Rafita[3][4]: 23 | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 39.66 yr (14,486 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9466AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1790 AU |
| 2.5628 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1498 |
| 4.10yr (1,499 days) | |
| 61.175° | |
| 0° 14m 24.72s / day | |
| Inclination | 7.2616° |
| 344.18° | |
| 227.50° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.54 km(calculated)[5] 6.922±0.310 km[6][7] |
| 6.228±0.0018h(R)[8] 6.230±0.0018h(R)[8] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[5] 0.255±0.043[6][7] | |
| S[5][9] | |
| 12.838±0.003(R)[8] · 12.9[1][6] · 12.903±0.003(R)[8] · 13.08±0.35[9] · 13.29[5] | |
9912 Donizetti, provisional designation2078 T-3, is a stony Rafitaasteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 km in diameter. It was discovered during the thirdPalomar–Leiden Trojan survey in 1977, and named after Italian composerGaetano Donizetti.
Donizetti was discovered on 16 October 1977, by the Dutch astronomersIngrid andCornelis van Houten, onphotographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomerTom Gehrels atPalomar Observatory in California, United States.[10]
Thesurvey designation "T-3" stands for the third and lastPalomar–Leiden Trojan survey, named after the fruitful collaboration of the Palomar andLeiden Observatory in the 1960s and 1970s. Gehrels used Palomar'sSamuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped thephotographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory whereastrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand asteroids.[11]
It orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,499 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.15 and aninclination of 7° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The body'sobservation arc begins at the discovering Palomar Observatory on 7 October 1977, just 9 days prior to its official discovery observation.[10]
Donizetti is astony member of theRafita family, which is located in the central main-belt just beyond the 3:1 mean-motionorbital resonance withJupiter. The family consists of more than a thousand members, the largest being1658 Innes and1587 Kahrstedt, approximately 14 and 15 km in diameter, respectively. The family's namesake,1644 Rafita, is considered aninterloper to the family itself.[4]: 23
Donizetti has been characterized as a stonyS-type asteroid byPan-STARRS photometric survey.[5][9]
In October 2010, a rotationallightcurve ofDonizetti was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band at thePalomar Transient Factory (PTF) in California. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 6.228 hours with a brightness variation of 0.19magnitude (U=2).[8]
In December 2011, PTF obtained a second lightcurve, also in the R-band, that gave a concurring period of 6.230 hours and a higher amplitude of 0.32 magnitude.(U=2).[8]
According to the surveys carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Donizetti measures 6.922 km in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.255.[6][7]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 6.54 km based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.29.[5]
Thisminor planet was named for Italian composer of symphonies, church and chamber music and operas, Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848).[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 2 April 1999 (M.P.C. 34356).[12]
