| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | T. Smirnova |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Obs. |
| Discovery date | 1 October 1973 |
| Designations | |
| (4962) Vecherka | |
Named after | Vechernij Petersburg[2] (Russian newspaper) |
| 1973 TP · 1952 TF 1969 TM6 · 1973 UG3 1986 WC3 | |
| main-belt · (middle) Maria[3] · background[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 64.61 yr (23,600 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9857AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2265 AU |
| 2.6061 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1457 |
| 4.21yr (1,537 days) | |
| 170.48° | |
| 0° 14m 3.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 15.108° |
| 207.02° | |
| 141.66° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 8.54±0.59 km[5] 9.62±2.43 km[6] 9.951±0.201 km[7][8] 10.06 km(calculated)[9] |
| 336±48h[10] | |
| 0.21(assumed)[9] 0.210±0.038[7] 0.21±0.11[6] 0.2102±0.0377[8] 0.349±0.170[5] | |
| S(assumed)[9] | |
| 11.94±0.27[11] · 12.10[5][8] · 12.3[1][9] · 12.67[6] | |
4962 Vecherka, provisional designation1973 TP, is a Eunomianasteroid andslow rotator from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 October 1973, by Soviet astronomerTamara Smirnova at theCrimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean peninsula.[12] The asteroid was named afterVechernij Petersburg, a newspaper that also publishes astronomical information.[2]
When applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements,Vecherka has both been considered a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population (according to Nesvorný),[4] and core member of theMaria family (according to Milani and Knežević).[3]
It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,537 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.15 and aninclination of 15° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins with its first observation as1952 TF atUccle Observatory in October 1952, or 21 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nauchnij.[12]
Vecherka is an assumed stonyS-type asteroid,[9] which corresponds to the overallspectral type of the Maria family.[13]: 23
In August 2015, a rotationallightcurve ofVecherka was obtained from photometric observations by a collaboration of Bulgarian astronomers. Lightcurve analysis gave a longrotation period of336±48 hours with a brightness variation of 1.08magnitude (U=2), indicating that the body's shape is irregular and elongated rather than spherical.[10] This long period makesVecherka aslow rotator, which ranks among theTop 200 slowest ones known to exists.
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Vecherka measures between 8.54 and 9.951 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.210 and 0.349.[5][6][7][8]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.21 – derived from15 Eunomia, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 10.06 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.3.[9]
Based on a proposal by theInstitute of Theoretical Astronomy (ITA), thisminor planet was named afterVechernij Petersburg, a popular evening newspaper fromSaint Petersburg, Russia, that publishes astronomical information and articles popularizing astronomical knowledge on a regular basis.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 14 December 1997 (M.P.C. 31023).[14]
