_Dobrovolsky.png) Shape model ofDobrovolsky from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Chernykh |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Obs. |
| Discovery date | 19 August 1966 |
| Designations | |
| (1789) Dobrovolsky | |
Named after | Georgy Dobrovolsky (cosmonaut)[2] |
| 1966 QC · 1936 KK 1939 GR · 1943 SG 1946 NA · 1953 TC2 1953 VX3 · 1955 EJ 1956 PD · 1956 RT 1969 OF | |
| main-belt · Flora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 73.51 yr (26,850 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6309AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7952 AU |
| 2.2131 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1888 |
| 3.29yr (1,203 days) | |
| 195.44° | |
| 0° 17m 57.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.9761° |
| 102.09° | |
| 214.93° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.809±0.077 km[4] 7.922±0.099[5] 9.85 km(calculated)[3] 11.23±0.37 km[6] |
| 4.800±0.020h[7] 4.811096±0.000005 h[8] 4.8111±0.0025 h[9] 4.812±0.001 h[a] 5.8 h[10] | |
| 0.1825±0.0243[4] 0.185±0.031[6][5] 0.24(assumed)[3] | |
| S[3][11] | |
| 11.05±1.53[11] · 11.800±0.080(R)[7] · 11.922±0.001(R)[9] · 12.2[1][3][6] · 13.0[4] | |
1789 Dobrovolsky (prov. designation:1966 QC) is aFlora asteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 August 1966, by Russian astronomerLyudmila Chernykh at theCrimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj on the Crimean peninsula.[12] The asteroid was named after cosmonautGeorgy Dobrovolsky.[2]
Dobrovolsky is a member of theFlora family, a large group of stonyS-type asteroids in the inner main-belt. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,203 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.19 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1] First identified as1936 KK atJohannesburg, the body's first used observation was taken atNice Observatory in 1943, whenDobrovolsky was identified as1943 SG, extending itsobservation arc by 23 years prior to its official discovery observation.[12]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of Ukrainian–Soviet cosmonautGeorgy Dobrovolsky, commander of theSoyuz 11 spacecraft, who died on 30 June 1971 during the vehicle's return to Earth after completing the flight program of the first crewed orbital station,Salyut. The subsequently numbered minor planets1790 Volkov and1791 Patsayev were named in honour of his dead crew members.[2]
The names of all three cosmonauts are also engraved on the plaque next to the sculpture of theFallen Astronaut on the Moon, which was placed there during theApollo 15 mission, containing the names of eight American astronauts and six Soviet cosmonauts, who had all died in service. The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 July 1972 (M.P.C. 3296).[13]
The so-far best rated rotationallightcurve ofDobrovolsky was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomerBrian A. Skiff in March 2011. It gave arotation period of 4.812 hours with a brightness variation of 0.13magnitude (U=3).[a] Other lightcurves were obtained byClaes-Ingvar Lagerkvist (in 1973) and at thePalomar Transient Factory (in 2014), giving a period of 5.8, 4.800 and 4.8111 hours, respectively (U=2/2/2).[7][9][10] An international study from February 2016, published a modeled period of 4.811096 hours (U=n.a.).[8]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Dobrovolsky measures 7.92 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.185 (best result),[4][5][6] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of its family – and calculates a diameter of 9.85 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 12.2.[3]
