5040 Rabinowitz

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.[8] Contrary to most of his discoveries, this asteroid is unrelated to the Palomar–Leiden survey and exclusively credited to Tom Gehrels.

5040 Rabinowitz
Discovery [1]
Discovered byT. Gehrels
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date15 September 1972
Designations
(5040) Rabinowitz
Named after
David Rabinowitz
(American astronomer)[2]
1972 RF · 1987 QE
main-belt · Phocaea [3][4]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc46.20 yr (16,874 days)
Aphelion2.9644 AU
Perihelion1.8705 AU
2.4174 AU
Eccentricity0.2263
3.76 yr (1,373 days)
7.0892°
0° 15m 43.92s / day
Inclination24.361°
175.69°
149.71°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions6.41 km (calculated)[3]
4.472±0.001 h[5]
4.6901±0.0004 h[lower-alpha 1]
4.691±0.001 h[6]
0.23 (assumed)[3]
S [3]
12.73±0.13 (R)[lower-alpha 1] · 12.9[1] · 13.15±0.35[7] · 13.18[3]

    Orbit and classification

    The stony S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family (701), a group of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics, named after its largest member, 25 Phocaea.[4] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt 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] A first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1971, extending the body's observation arc by one year prior to its official discovery observation.[8]

    Physical characteristics

    Rotation period

    In July 2013, a rotational lightcurve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at the Ondřejov Observatory. The well-defined lightcurve 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 lightcurves – obtained by Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies and by Maurice Clark at the Preston Gott Observatory – gave a similar period of 4.691 and 4.472 hours, with an amplitude of 0.35 and 0.31 in magnitude, respectively (U=3-/2+).[5][6]

    Diameter and albedo

    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 with an absolute magnitude of 13.18.[3]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after American astronomer David Rabinowitz (born 1960), a discoverer of minor planets himself and researcher at Yale University. The naming also honors his work for the Spacewatch program.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 September 1993 (M.P.C. 22505).[9]

    Notes
    1. Pravec (2013): lightcurve plot of (5040) Rabinowitz with a 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) and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (2013)

    References
    1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 5040 Rabinowitz (1972 RF)" (2017-06-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
    2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(5040) Rabinowitz". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (5040) Rabinowitz. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 434. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4907. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. "LCDB Data for (5040) Rabinowitz". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    4. "Asteroid 5040 Rabinowitz – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
    5. 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. 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.
    7. 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 1 July 2016.
    8. "5040 Rabinowitz (1972 RF)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

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