| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Z. Knežević |
| Discovery site | Piszkéstető Stn. |
| Discovery date | 13 November 1980 |
| Designations | |
| (3176) Paolicchi | |
Named after | Paolo Paolicchi(astrophysicist)[2] |
| 1980 VR1 · 1931 UP 1941 WC · 1941 WG1 1951 XF1 · 1956 XD 1965 UD · 1968 HM1 1975 XU · 1978 JG 1978 LQ · A902 WG | |
| main-belt · (outer)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 114.53 yr (41,832 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9658AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7854 AU |
| 2.8756 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0314 |
| 4.88yr (1,781 days) | |
| 170.54° | |
| 0° 12m 7.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 18.114° |
| 53.209° | |
| 25.596° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 31.84±0.68 km[4] 33.83 km(derived)[3] 33.94±2.8 km(IRAS 15)[1] 41.33±0.36 km[5] |
| 20.4±0.5h[6] | |
| 0.038±0.007[5] 0.0511(derived)[3] 0.0669±0.012(IRAS 15)[1] 0.081±0.004[4] | |
| C[3] | |
| 10.90[4] · 11.10[5] · 11.2[1][3] · 11.47±0.24[7] | |
3176 Paolicchi, provisional designation1980 VR1, is a carbonaceousasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, about 34 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 1980, by Serbian astronomerZoran Knežević at the Konkoly Observatory'sPiszkéstető Station northeast of Budapest, Hungary.[8]
The darkC-type asteroid orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,781 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.03 and aninclination of 18° with respect to theecliptic.[1] First identified asA902 WG atHeidelberg Observatory in 1902, the first used observation was made at the U.S.Lowell Observatory in 1931, whenPaolicchi was identified as1931 UP, extending itsobservation arc by 49 years prior to its official discovery observation.[8]
It has arotation period of 20.400 hours[6] and analbedo in the range of 0.04–0.08, according to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite,IRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and theWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.05.[3] Estimated diameters forPaolicchi range between 31.8 and 41.3 kilometers.[1][3][4][5]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of Italian astrophysicistPaolo Paolicchi (b. 1950) at theUniversity of Pisa, whose research activity included the study on the dynamical and collisional history ofSmall Solar System bodies and the origin of planetary and stellar systems. Paolicchi's work on minor planets has focused on the modeling of catastrophic breakup events and on the evolution of their rotational properties.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 7 September 1987 (M.P.C. 12209).[9]
