| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | F. Börngen L. D. Schmadel |
| Discovery site | Karl Schwarzschild Obs. |
| Discovery date | 12 September 1991 |
| Designations | |
| (9344) Klopstock | |
Named after | Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock[1](German poet) |
| 1991 RB4 · 1995 WK2 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (inner) background[3] · Vestian[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 26.35yr (9,626 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.5711AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1575 AU |
| 2.3643 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0875 |
| 3.64 yr (1,328 d) | |
| 342.64° | |
| 0° 16m 15.96s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.0293° |
| 340.39° | |
| 156.40° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 3.66 km(calculated)[4] 17.05±1.5 km[5] | |
| 5.842±0.0031 h[6] | |
| 0.0116±0.002[5] 0.20(assumed)[4] | |
| S(assumed)[4] | |
| 14.095±0.003(R)[6] 14.2[2] 14.55[4] 14.86±0.14[7] | |
9344 Klopstock, provisional designation1991 RB4, is a backgroundasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt. It was discovered on 12 September 1991, by German astronomersFreimut Börngen andLutz Schmadel at theKarl Schwarzschild Observatory in Tautenburg, Germany. Poor observational data suggests that the asteroid is one of the darkest known objects with a diameter of approximately 17 kilometers (11 miles), while it is also an assumedstony asteroid with a much smaller diameter. It has arotation period of 5.84 hours and was named after German poetFriedrich Gottlieb Klopstock.[1][2][4]
Klopstock 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 theVesta family (401), one of the largestasteroid families of bright asteroids in the main-belt.[4]
It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,328 days;semi-major axis of 2.36 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.09 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Tautenburg in September 1991.[1]
Klopstock is an assumed, stonyS-type asteroid,[4] aspectral type contrary to the outstandingly low IRAS albedo(see below).
In September 2013, a rotationallightcurve ofKlopstock was obtained fromphotometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 5.842 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.38magnitude (U=2).[6]
According to the survey carried out by theInfrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in the 1980s,Klopstock measures 17.05 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an exceptionally lowalbedo of 0.0116.[5] This would make it one of the darkest asteroid known to exist.[8] However, the result is derived from two IRAS-observations only.[5] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link disregards the IRAS-data and assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and consequently calculates a smaller diameter of 3.66 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 14.55.[4]
Thisminor planet was named after German poetFriedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803), an important figure in the literary style calledEmpfindsamkeit.[1] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 2 February 1999 (M.P.C. 33795).[9]
