(444030) 2004 NT33 is a classical trans-Neptunian object and possible dwarf planet of the Kuiper belt in the outermost region of the Solar System, approximately 450 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 July 2004, by astronomers at Palomar Observatory, California, United States.[8]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Palomar team |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 13 July 2004 |
| Designations | |
| (444030) 2004 NT33 | |
| 2004 NT33 | |
| TNO[1] · cubewano[2] Extended[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 3 | |
| Observation arc | 33.99 yr (12,415 days) |
| Earliest precovery date | 10 August 1982 |
| Aphelion | 50.014 AU |
| Perihelion | 36.838 AU |
| 43.426 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1517 |
| 286.18 yr (104,527 days) | |
| 41.709° | |
| 0° 0m 12.24s / day | |
| Inclination | 31.231° |
| 240.87° | |
| 37.400° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 423+87 −80 km[4] 482.53 km (calculated)[5] 513 km (estimated)[6] |
| 7.87±0.05 h[2] | |
| 0.08[6] 0.10 (assumed)[5] 0.125[4] | |
| C[5] | |
| 20.94[7] | |
| 4.4[2] · 4.7[1][5] · 4.9[6] | |
Orbit and classification
edit2004 NT33 is a "cubewano", a classical, low-eccentricity object in the Kuiper belt, that orbits the Sun at a distance of 36.8–50.0 AU once every 286 years and 2 months (104,527 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 31° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It is currently 39 AU from the Sun.[7]
A first precovery was taken at the Siding Spring Observatory in 1982, extending the body's observation arc by 22 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[8]
Physical characteristics
editRotation period
editIn 2009, astronomers obtained a rotational lightcurve of 2004 NT33 from photometric observations, which were taken at the Galileo National Telescope (TNG) on the island of La Palma, and at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Granada, both located in Spain. The ambiguous lightcurve gave a rotation period of 7.87 hours with a low brightness amplitude of 0.04 magnitude (U=1).[2]
Diameter and albedo
editAccording to the "TNOs are Cool" survey, using observations from the space-based Herschel and Spitzer telescopes, 2004 NT33 measures 423 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a visual geometric albedo of 0.125,[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.10 and calculates a diameter of 482.53 kilometers with on an absolute magnitude of 4.7.[5]
Naming
editAs of 2017, this minor planet remains unnamed.[8]
References
editExternal links
edit- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 2017-12-16 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 (440001)-(445000) – Minor Planet Center
- (444030) 2004 NT33 at the JPL Small-Body Database