| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Kohoutek |
| Discovery site | Bergedorf Obs. |
| Discovery date | 22 August 1969 |
| Designations | |
| (1834) Palach | |
Named after | Jan Palach(Czech student)[2] |
| 1969 QP | |
| main-belt · · (outer) Eos[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 47.26 yr (17,260 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2373AU |
| Perihelion | 2.8142 AU |
| 3.0258 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0699 |
| 5.26yr (1,922 days) | |
| 102.36° | |
| 0° 11m 14.28s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.4352° |
| 268.16° | |
| 358.39° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 17.156±0.414[5] 18.059±0.264 km[6] 19.52 km(calculated)[3] 20.23±0.87 km[7] |
| 3.1358±0.0009h[8] 3.139±0.001 h[9] | |
| 0.109±0.010[7] 0.1364±0.0190[6] 0.14(assumed)[3] 0.151±0.020[5] | |
| S(assumed)[3] | |
| 11.3[1][3] · 11.50[6][7] · 11.54±0.20[10] | |
1834 Palach, provisional designation1969 QP, is a stony Eoanasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 August 1969 by Czech astronomerLuboš Kohoutek atBergedorf Observatory in Hamburg, Germany, and named after Czech studentJan Palach.[2][11]
Palach is a member of theEos family (606), the largestasteroid family in theouter main belt consisting of nearly 10,000 asteroids.[4][12]: 23
It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,922 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.07 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[1] As noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made,Palach'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation in 1969.[11]
In September 2006, a rotationallightcurve forPalach was obtained from photometric observations made by French amateur astronomerLaurent Bernasconi at St. Michel sur Meu. It gave arotation period of 3.139 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.16magnitude (U=2).[9] In May 2010, a second lightcurve, obtained by Zachary Pligge at Oakley Southern Sky Observatory, Australia, gave a period of 3.1358 hours with an amplitude of 0.13 (U=2).[8]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Palach measures between 17.16 and 20.23 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.109 and 0.151.[5][6][7] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for Eoan asteroids of 0.14 and calculates a diameter of 19.52 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 11.3.[3]
It was named in memory of Czech studentJan Palach (1948–1969), who burned himself to death, as a protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia that followed and ended the national reform movement known as thePrague Spring.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 25 August 1991 (M.P.C. 18643).[13]
