| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Endate K. Watanabe |
| Discovery site | Kitami Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 March 1992 |
| Designations | |
| (14436) Morishita | |
Named after | Yoko Morishita (amateur astronomer)[1] |
| 1992 FC2 · 1998 TN28 2000 AU60 | |
| main-belt · (middle)[2] background | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 25.19 yr (9,202 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.1509AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9961 AU |
| 2.5735 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2244 |
| 4.13yr (1,508 days) | |
| 43.027° | |
| 0° 14m 19.32s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.8554° |
| 353.83° | |
| 208.24° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.49 km(calculated)[2] 5.656±0.247 km[3][4] |
| 972.8085±34.9213h[5] | |
| 0.152±0.035[3][4] 0.20(assumed)[2] | |
| S[2] | |
| 13.9[3] · 14.1[1] · 14.201±0.010(R)[5] · 14.41±0.23[6] · 14.65[2] | |
14436 Morishita, provisional designation1992 FC2, is a stony backgroundasteroid and exceptionallyslow rotator from the middle region of theasteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 23 March 1992, by Japanese astronomersKin Endate andKazuro Watanabe atKitami Observatory in Japan, and named after amateur astronomerYoko Morishita.[7]
Morishita is aS-type asteroid that orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.0–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,508 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.22 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1] As noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made, the body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation.[7]
In October 2010, a rotationallightcurve ofMorishita was obtained from photometric observations at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave an exceptionally longrotation period of 972.8 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.82magnitude, indicative for a non-spheroidal shape (U=2).[5]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Morishita measures 5.656 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.152,[3][4] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a shorter diameter of 3.49 kilometers.[2]
Thisminor planet was named for Yoko Morishita (born 1947), amateur astronomer and supporter of the Astronomical Society of Shikoku, where she has made many contributions to further the spread of astronomical awareness.[7] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 25 April 2013 (M.P.C. 83583).[8]
