| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Đurković |
| Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
| Discovery date | 13 April 1936 |
| Designations | |
| (1605) Milankovitch | |
Named after | Milutin Milanković (Serbian scientist)[2] |
| 1936 GA · 1925 DC 1931 KB · 1938 ST 1941 FA · 1946 FF 1949 UC1 · 1968 KP A907 UB | |
| main-belt · Eos[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 80.69 yr (29,472 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2472AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7796 AU |
| 3.0134 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0776 |
| 5.23yr (1,911 days) | |
| 310.79° | |
| 0° 11m 18.24s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.562° |
| 173.74° | |
| 276.14° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 27.78±3.57 km[4] 29.404±0.197 km[5] 29.598±0.217[6] 32.38 km(derived)[3] 32.47±1.5 km(IRAS:6)[7] 33.80±0.42 km[8] |
| 11.60±0.05h[9] 11.63±0.03 h[10] | |
| 0.1401(derived)[3] 0.142±0.004[8] 0.1529±0.015(IRAS:6)[7] 0.184±0.034[6] 0.1902±0.0991[5] 0.235±0.322[4] | |
| M[5] · LS[11] · S[3] | |
| 9.97[4] · 10.1[5][7][8] · 10.19±0.29[11] · 10.2[1][3] | |
1605 Milankovitch, provisional designation1936 GA, is an Eoanasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 31 kilometers in diameter. It was named after Serbian scientistMilutin Milanković.
Milankovitch was discovered on 13 April 1936, by Serbian astronomerPetar Đurković at theRoyal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium.[12] Two nights later, the body was independently discovered by Polish astronomers Jan Piegza andTadeusz Banachiewicz at Cracow and Warsaw, respectively.[2]
It was first identified asA907 UB at the U.S. Taunton Observatory (803) in 1907. However, it remained unused – as did the subsequent observations at bothSimeiz andLowell Observatory in 1925 and 1931, respectively. The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Uccle in 1936.[12]
Milankovitch is a member of theEos family, an orbital group of more than 4,000 asteroids, which are well known for mostly being of stony composition.[3]
It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,911 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 11° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
Milankovitch is classified as a metallicM-type by theNEOWISE mission, as a stonyS-type by theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL), and as a LS-type – a transitional form between the common S-type and rareL-type asteroids – byPan-STARRS1' large-scale survey.[11]
In April 2004, a rotationallightcurve ofMilankovitch was obtained from photometric observations by American amateur astronomerWalter R. Cooney Jr. It gave arotation period of11.60±0.05 hours with a brightness variation of 0.12magnitude (U=2).[9] In October 2006, French astronomerPierre Antonini obtained another lightcurve, which gave a similar period of11.63±0.03 and an amplitude of 0.14 magnitude (U=2).[10]
According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission,Milankovitch measures between 27.8 and 33.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.142 and 0.235.[4][5][6][7][8] CALL derives an albedo of 0.140 and a diameter of 32.4 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 10.2.[3]
Thisminor planet was named in memory of Serbian-Yugoslav scientistMilutin Milanković (1879–1958), best known for hisMilankovitch cycles, a theory ofcelestial mechanics that describes the collective effects of changes in the Earth's movements upon itsclimate. He is also honored by the lunar craterMilankovič, and by the Martian craterMilankovič.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 August 1980 (M.P.C. 5449).[13]
