| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | T. Seki |
| Discovery site | Geisei Obs. |
| Discovery date | 30 November 1986 |
| Designations | |
| (3785) Kitami | |
Named after | Kitami(Japanese city)[2] |
| 1986 WM · 1934 TG 1957 UM · 1979 OO2 1980 UU | |
| main-belt · Themis[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 37.95 yr (13,862 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.7830AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6903 AU |
| 3.2367 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1688 |
| 5.82yr (2,127 days) | |
| 143.00° | |
| 0° 10m 9.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.9225° |
| 151.03° | |
| 237.05° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 17.06 km(calculated)[3] 19.761±0.269[4] 20.536±0.187 km[5] |
| 3.7992±0.0004h[6] | |
| 0.0664±0.0133[5] 0.072±0.021[4] 0.08(assumed)[3] | |
| C[3][7] | |
| 12.0[5] · 12.11±0.18[7] · 12.2[1][3] | |
3785 Kitami, provisional designation1986 WM, is a carbonaceous Themistianasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered by Japanese astronomerTsutomu Seki atGeisei Observatory on 30 November 1986, and named after the city ofKitami, Japan.[8]
TheC-type asteroid is a member of theThemis family, a dynamical family of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanarecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 10 months (2,127 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.17 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1]The first observation was made atSimeiz Observatory in 1934, and the first usedprecovery was taken at the AustralianSiding Spring Observatory in 1979, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery date.[8]
In December 2009, a rotationallightcurve ofKitami was obtained from photometric observations by amateur astronomerRené Roy at his at Blauvac Observatory, France. The lightcurve gave arotation period of3.7992±0.0004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30 inmagnitude (U=3-).[6]
Based on the survey carried out byNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Kitami measures 19.7 and 20.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.066 and 0.072, respectively,[4][5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 17.1 kilometers.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for the Japanese city ofKitami, where theKitami Observatory is located. It is known for its manyastrometric observations ofsmall Solar System bodies by several amateur astronomers. Kitami is a "friendship city" of the discoverer's own city of Kochi(also see2396 Kochi), and is located on the island on Hokkaido, after which the minor planet3720 Hokkaido is named.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 27 August 1988 (M.P.C. 13482).[9]
