_Petrpravec.png) Shape model ofPetrpravec from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 9 August 1988 |
| Designations | |
| (4790) Petrpravec | |
Named after | Petr Pravec[1] (Czech astronomer) |
| 1988 PP · 1978 EA1 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (middle) background[3] · Eunomia[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 40.21yr (14,685 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.8502AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4002 AU |
| 2.6252 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0857 |
| 4.25 yr (1,554 d) | |
| 80.278° | |
| 0° 13m 54.12s / day | |
| Inclination | 12.720° |
| 131.48° | |
| 84.770° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 14.40±4.13 km[5] 14.53±1.05 km[6] 16.16±4.77 km[7] 16.217±0.096 km[8] 17.160±5.818 km[9] 17.62±1.5 km[10] | |
| undetermined[11] | |
| 0.0336±0.0384[9] 0.038±0.007[8] 0.047±0.042[7] 0.05±0.04[5] 0.1084±0.021[10] 0.160±0.024[6] | |
| C(Pan-STARRS)[4][12] C(SDSS-MOC)[13][14] | |
| 11.80[6][10] 12.8[7] 12.90[7] 13.0[1][2] 13.15[9] 13.15±0.18[12] 13.17[5] | |
4790 Petrpravec (prov. designation:1988 PP) is a carbonaceousbackground asteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 9 August 1988, by American astronomerEleanor Helin at thePalomar Observatory in California, and was later named for Czech astronomerPetr Pravec.[1]
Petrpravec is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population when applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements.[3] Based on osculating Keplerianorbital elements, the asteroid has also been classified as a member of theEunomia family (502), a prominentfamily of stonyS-type asteroid and the largest one in the intermediate main belt with more than 5,000 members.[4]
It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.4–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,554 days;semi-major axis of 2.63 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.09 and aninclination of 13° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins with its first observation as1978 EA1 atCrimea–Nauchnij in March 1978, more than 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[1]
Thisminor planet was named afterPetr Pravec (born 1967), a Czech astronomer and prolificphotometrist ofcomets,near-Earth andbinary asteroids. He has often been the first person to observe objects found in the course of the discoverer'sNear-Earth Asteroid Tracking program following their tentative announcement in theMinor Planet Center's (MPC) "NEO Confirmation Page". The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 20 June 1997 on the occasion of his marriage with Kateřina Macháčová the following day (M.P.C. 30095).[1][15]
In theSDSS-based taxonomy,Petrpravec is a poorly determined, carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[13][14] It has also been characterized as a dark C-type by thePan-STARRS' survey.[4][12]
A rotationallightcurve ofPetrpravec fromphotometric observations at theOakley Southern Sky Observatory in February 2012, gave a brightness variation of only 0.02 magnitude and was insufficient to determine arotation period.[4][11]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite, theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS,Petrpravec measures between 14.4 and 17.6 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.0336 and 0.160.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0369 and a diameter of 17.37 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.0.[4]
