1850 Kohoutek, provisional designation 1942 EN, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was named after Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek.[2]
Discovery
Kohoutek was discovered during World War II on 23 March 1942, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany,[8] Ten days prior to its discovery, the body was observed at Turku Observatory, Finland. However, these observations are not considered for the asteroid's orbital computation and its observation arc begins with the discovery observation at Heidelberg.[8]
Since the discovery was made in the second half of March, the letter "E" in the provisional designation is erroneous. It should have been "F", but the initially incorrect assignment has persisted.[citation needed]
Classification and orbit
It is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest families of stony asteroids in the asteroid belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,233 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
Physical parameters
Rotation period
In December 2014, a rotational lightcurve of Kohoutek was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.68 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31 magnitude (U=2).[7]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kohoutek measures 5.91 and 7.64 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.181 and 0.383, respectively.[4][5][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, a S-type asteroid and the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 6.05 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.26.[3]
Naming
This minor planet was named in honor of the Czech astronomer, Luboš Kohoutek (born 1935), former staff member of the Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory and prolific observer and discoverer of minor planets and comets, most notably 75D/Kohoutek, 76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura, and the long-period Comet Kohoutek. He has also contributed in the fields of planetary nebulae and emission-line stars.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3935).[9]
References
- ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1850 Kohoutek (1942 EN)" (2017-06-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1850) Kohoutek". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1850) Kohoutek. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 148. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1851. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (1850) Kohoutek". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. S2CID 46350317. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID 118745497. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ a b c Chang, Chan-Kao; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Ip, Wing-Huen; Prince, Thomas A.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Levitan, David; et al. (December 2016). "Large Super-fast Rotator Hunting Using the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 227 (2): 13. arXiv:1608.07910. Bibcode:2016ApJS..227...20C. doi:10.3847/0067-0049/227/2/20.
- ^ a b "1850 Kohoutek (1942 EN)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. Bibcode:2009dmpn.book.....S. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.
External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 1850 Kohoutek at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 1850 Kohoutek at the JPL Small-Body Database
