astro.wikisort.org - Asteroid

14968 Kubáček, provisional designation 1997 QG, is a stony background asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 23 August 1997, by Slovak astronomers Adrián Galád and Alexander Pravda at Modra Observatory, Slovakia.[7] It was named for Slovak astronomer Dalibor Kubáček.[2]

14968 Kubáček

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	A. Galád A. Pravda
Discovery site	Modra Obs.
Discovery date	23 August 1997
Designations
MPC designation	(14968) Kubáček
Named after	Dalibor Kubáček (Slovak astronomer)[2]
Alternative designations	1997 QG · 1987 DG3 1998 XT89
Minor planet category	main-belt · (middle)[3] background
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	29.29 yr (10,698 days)
Aphelion	2.8129 AU
Perihelion	2.3186 AU
Semi-major axis	2.5658 AU
Eccentricity	0.0963
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.11 yr (1,501 days)
Mean anomaly	201.00°
Mean motion	0° 14m 23.28s / day
Inclination	5.4432°
Longitude of ascending node	150.32°
Argument of perihelion	296.81°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4.71 km (calculated)[3] 4.81±0.23 km[4]
Synodic rotation period	4.89±0.01 h[5]
Geometric albedo	0.20 (assumed)[3] 0.210±0.046[4]
Spectral type	S[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.90[4] · 14.0[1][3] · 14.20±0.12[6]

Orbit and classification

Kubáček orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.3–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,501 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

Its observation arc begins 10 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its identification as 1987 DG₃ at the French Caussols Observatory in February 1987.[7]

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of Kubáček was obtained from photometric observations made by the discovering astronomer Adrián Galád at Modra Observatory in April 2008. The lightcurve showed a rotation period of 4.89 hours with a brightness variation of 0.48 in magnitude (U=3-).[5]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kubáček measures 4.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.21,[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 4.7 kilometers.[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of astronomer Dalibor Kubáček (born 1957), who explored the coma of comets at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. He readily instructed the peculiar methods of image processing to students and friends, as well as to the discoverers of this minor planet.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 27 April 2002 (M.P.C. 45339).[8]

References

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 (10001)-(15000) – Minor Planet Center
• 14968 Kubáček at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 14968 Kubáček at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

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