10476 Los Molinos, provisional designation 1981 EY38, is a stony background asteroid and slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 March 1981, by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. The asteroid was named for the Los Molinos Observatory in Uruguay.[2]
Discovery[1] | |
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Discovered by | S. J. Bus |
Discovery site | Siding Spring Obs. |
Discovery date | 2 March 1981 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (10476) Los Molinos |
Named after | Los Molinos Observatory[2] (Uruguayan observatory) |
Alternative designations | 1981 EY38 · 1978 NB3 |
Minor planet category | main-belt · (inner)[3] background[4] |
Orbital characteristics[1] | |
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 39.31 yr (14,358 days) |
Aphelion | 2.9165 AU |
Perihelion | 1.7185 AU |
Semi-major axis | 2.3175 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.2585 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 3.53 yr (1,289 days) |
Mean anomaly | 95.559° |
Mean motion | 0° 16m 45.84s / day |
Inclination | 9.4472° |
Longitude of ascending node | 249.86° |
Argument of perihelion | 38.678° |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 2.853±0.014 km[5][6] 2.96 km (calculated)[3] |
Synodic rotation period | 267.906±1.9703 h[7] |
Geometric albedo | 0.20 (assumed)[3] 0.3424±0.0425[5][6] |
Spectral type | S[3] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.4[6] · 14.556±0.003 (R)[7] · 14.6[1] · 15.01[3] · 15.33±0.50[8] |
Los Molinos is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[4] It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.7–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,289 days; semi-major axis of 2.32 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins with its first observations as 1978 NB3 at Crimea–Nauchnij in July 1978.[2]
Based on its high albedo and its location within the asteroid belt, Los Molinos is an assumed S-type asteroid.[3]
In August 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Los Molinos was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 267.906±1.9703 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.33 magnitude (U=2).[7] This makes Los Molinos one of the top 200 slow rotators known to exist.[3]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Los Molinos measures 2.853 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.34.[5][6]
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.96 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 15.01.[3]
This minor planet was named after the Los Molinos Observatory (844) located near Montevideo in Uruguay. The observatory is known for its astrometric follow-up observations of asteroids and comets.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 April 2017 (M.P.C. 103975/103976).[9]
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