3073 Kursk

3073 Kursk, provisionally known as 1979 SW₁₁, is a stony Florian asteroid and synchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1979, by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula.^[5]

3073 Kursk

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	N. Chernykh
Discovery site	Crimean Astrophysical Obs.
Discovery date	24 September 1979
Designations
MPC designation	(3073) Kursk
Named after	Kursk (Russian city)[2]
Alternative designations	1979 SW11 · 1969 VG1
Minor planet category	main-belt · Flora [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	47.38 yr (17,305 days)
Aphelion	2.5475 AU
Perihelion	1.9375 AU
Semi-major axis	2.2425 AU
Eccentricity	0.1360
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.36 yr (1,227 days)
Mean anomaly	64.484°
Mean motion	0° 17m 36.6s / day
Inclination	5.0362°
Longitude of ascending node	204.11°
Argument of perihelion	232.21°
Known satellites	1 (D: 1.67 km[4]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4.67 km (derived)[3]
Synodic rotation period	3.4468 h (0.14362 d)
Geometric albedo	0.24 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S [3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.6[1] · 13.86[3]

Orbit and characterization

Kursk is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest families of stony S-type asteroid in the main belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,227 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.14 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

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 derives a diameter of 4.67 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.86.^[3]

Satellite

A 1.67 kilometer-large minor-planet moon, designated S/2007 (3073) 1 was discovered orbiting Kursk in 44.96 hours (or 1 day, 20 hours, and 57 minutes).^[4]

Naming

This minor planet was named after the old Russian city Kursk.^[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 July 1985 (M.P.C. 9771).^[6]

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3073 Kursk (1979 SW11)" (2017-03-29 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3073) Kursk". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3073) Kursk. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 253. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3074. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. "LCDB Data for (3073) Kursk". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 15 June 2017.
4. Johnston, Robert (21 September 2014). "(3073) Kursk". johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
5. "3073 Kursk (1979 SW11)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
6. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 15 June 2017.

External links

• Asteroids with Satellites, Robert Johnston, johnstonsarchive.net
• 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
• 3073 Kursk at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 3073 Kursk at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters