5040 Rabinowitz

5040 Rabinowitz
Discovery [1]
Discovered by T. Gehrels
Discovery site Palomar Obs.
Discovery date 15 September 1972
Designations
MPC designation 5040 Rabinowitz
Named after
 David Rabinowitz
(astronomer)[2]
1972 RF · 1987 QE
main-belt · Phocaea [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 45.23 yr (16,521 days)
Aphelion 2.9649 AU
Perihelion 1.8712 AU
2.4181 AU
Eccentricity 0.2262
3.76 yr (1,373 days)
262.29°
0° 15m 43.56s / day
Inclination 24.362°
175.69°
149.61°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 6.41 km (calculated)[3]
4.6901±0.0004 h[lower-alpha 1]
4.691±0.001 h[4]
4.472±0.001 h[5]
0.23 (assumed)[3]
S [3]
12.73±0.13 (R)[lower-alpha 1]
12.9[1]
13.15±0.35[6]
13.18[3]

    5040 Rabinowitz, provisional designation 1972 RF, is a stony Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory on 15 September 1972.[7] Contrary to most of his discoveries, the asteroid is unrelated to the Palomar–Leiden survey and exclusively credited to Tom Gehrels.

    The stony S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family, a rather small group of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics, named after its largest member, 25 Phocaea. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,373 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1971, extending the asteroid's observation arc by one year prior to its discovery.[7]

    In July 2013, a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at the Ondřejov Observatory. The well-defined light-curve gave a rotation period of 4.6901±0.0004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.33 in magnitude (U=3).[lower-alpha 1] During the same opposition opportunity, two more light-curves – obtained by Robert D. Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies and by Maurice Clark at the Preston Gott Observatory – gave a similar period of 4.691±0.001 and 4.472±0.001 hours, with an amplitude of 0.35 and 0.31 in magnitude, respectively (U=3-/2+).[4][5]

    The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23, derived from the Phocaea family's namesake, and calculates a diameter of 6.4 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 13.18.[3]

    The minor planet was named after American astronomer David Rabinowitz (b. 1960), a discoverer of minor planets himself and researcher at Yale University. The naming also honors his work for the Spacewatch program.[2] Naming citation was published on 1 September 1993 (M.P.C. 22505).[8]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Pravec (2013) web: rotation period 4.6901±0.0004 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.33 mag and an abs. magnitude of 12.73. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) for (5040) Rabinowitz and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (2013)
    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 5040 Rabinowitz (1972 RF)" (2016-06-16 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (5040) Rabinowitz. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 434. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (5040) Rabinowitz". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    4. 1 2 Stephens, Robert D.; Coley, Daniel R. (October 2013). "A Plethora of Phocaea Asteroids". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 40 (4): 203–204. Bibcode:2013MPBu...40..203S. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    5. 1 2 Clark, Maurice (April 2014). "Asteroid Photometry from the Preston Gott Observatory". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (2): 100–101. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41..100C. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    6. ↑ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    7. 1 2 "5040 Rabinowitz (1972 RF)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    8. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

    External links

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