2348 Michkovitch, provisional designation 1939 AA, is a presumed carbonaceous Erigone asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by Serbian astronomer Milorad Protić at Belgrade Observatory on 10 January 1939.[7] The asteroid was named after Serbian astronomer Vojislav Mišković.[2]

2348 Michkovitch
Discovery [1]
Discovered byM. B. Protić
Discovery siteBelgrade Obs.
Discovery date10 January 1939
Designations
(2348) Michkovitch
Named after
Vojislav Mišković
(Serbian astronomer)[2]
1939 AA · 1958 GR
1965 DA · 1975 XA5
1978 QH1
main-belt · Erigone[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc78.28 yr (28,590 days)
Aphelion2.8089 AU
Perihelion1.9862 AU
2.3975 AU
Eccentricity0.1716
3.71 yr (1,356 days)
60.159°
0° 15m 55.8s / day
Inclination4.6718°
186.37°
295.73°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.595±0.098[4]
4.802±0.078 km[5]
15.33 km (calculated)[3]
28 h[a]
0.057 (assumed)[3]
0.8441±0.1248[5]
0.917±0.151[4]
C[3]
12.4[5] · 12.8[1][3] · 13.07±0.31[6]

Orbit and classification

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Michkovitch is a member of the Erigone family, named after 163 Erigone, its largest member and namesake.[3] It is a rather young cluster (170–280 My) of dark carbonaceous asteroids in the inner asteroid belt, which otherwise consists mostly of stony asteroids.[8]

It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,356 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] No precoveries were taken. The asteroid's observation arc starts 15 days after its official discovery with the first used observation taken at the Royal Observatory of Belgium.[7]

Naming

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This minor planet was named by the discoverer after his professor Vojislav Mišković (1892–1976), first director of the new Belgrade Observatory and founder of the Astronomical Institute at SANU.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 7 March 1985 (M.P.C. 9477).[9]

Physical characteristics

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Rotation period

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A 2011-published rotational lightcurve of Michkovitch was obtained from photometric observations by Australian amateur astronomer David Higgins. Lightcurve analysis gave a longer-than average rotation period of 28 hours with a brightness variation of 0.12 in magnitude (U=2).[a]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Michkovitch measures 4.6 and 4.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an outstanding albedo of 0.84 and 0.92, respectively.[4][5]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link strongly disagrees with the result obtained by the space-based observatory and assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a much larger diameter of 15.4 kilometers, as the lower the body's albedo (reflectivity), the larger its diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).[3]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Higgins (2011) web: rotation period 28 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.12 mag. Summary figures for (2348) Michkovitch at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) and Higgins, D.J. (2011)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2348 Michkovitch (1939 AA)" (2017-05-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2348) Michkovitch". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2348) Michkovitch. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 191. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2349. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "LCDB Data for (2348) Michkovitch". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
  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:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. ^ a b "2348 Michkovitch (1939 AA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  8. ^ Carruba, V.; Aljbaae, S.; Winter, O. C. (January 2016). "On the Erigone family and the z2 secular resonance". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 455 (3): 2279–2288. arXiv:1510.05551. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.455.2279C. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv2430.
  9. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
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