49777 Cappi

49777 Cappi (provisional designation 1999 XS) is a stony background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter.

49777 Cappi

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	P. G. Comba
Discovery site	Prescott Obs.
Discovery date	2 December 1999
Designations
MPC designation	(49777) Cappi
Named after	Margaret Comba (discoverer's wife)[2]
Alternative designations	1999 XS · 2001 KD31
Minor planet category	main-belt · (inner) [3] background [4]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	24.96 yr (9,115 days)
Aphelion	2.5138 AU
Perihelion	2.1982 AU
Semi-major axis	2.3560 AU
Eccentricity	0.0670
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.62 yr (1,321 days)
Mean anomaly	183.85°
Mean motion	0° 16m 21s / day
Inclination	4.4688°
Longitude of ascending node	237.61°
Argument of perihelion	341.93°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	1.85 km (calculated)[3]
Synodic rotation period	5.9389±0.0018 h[5]
Geometric albedo	0.20 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S (assumed)[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	15.6[1] · 15.92±0.23[6] · 15.575±0.010 (R)[5] · 16.02[3]

The asteroid was discovered on 2 December 1999, by Italian–American astronomer Paul Comba at the Prescott Observatory in Arizona, United States.^[7] It was named after the discoverer's wife, Margaret Capitola Sonntag Comba.^[2]

Orbit and classification

Cappi is a non-family from the main belt's background population.^[4] It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,321 days; semi-major axis of 2.36 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

The asteroid's observation arc begins 8 years prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken by the Steward Observatory's Spacewatch survey at Kitt Peak in September 1991.^[7]

Physical characteristics

Cappi is an assumed stony S-type asteroid.^[3]

Rotation and shape

In September 2013, a rotational lightcurve of Cappi was obtained from photometric observation taken in the R-band at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. It showed a rotation period of 5.9389 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.78 magnitude (U=2), indicating a non-spheroidal shape.^[5]

Diameter and albedo estimate

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 1.85 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 16.02.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Margaret Capitola Sonntag Comba (born 1940), a psychologist and art therapist by profession, faculty member at Prescott College, and wife of the discoverer.^[7] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 May 2004 (M.P.C. 51981).^[8]

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 49777 Cappi (1999 XS)" (2016-08-27 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). "(49777) Cappi [2.36, 0.07, 4.5]". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (49777) Cappi, Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 215. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5_2544. ISBN 978-3-540-34360-8.
3. "LCDB Data for (49777) Cappi". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 28 April 2016.
4. "Asteroid 49777 Cappi – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
5. Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
6. 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 28 April 2016.
7. "49777 Cappi (1999 XS)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
8. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 April 2016.

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 (45001)-(50000) – Minor Planet Center
• 49777 Cappi at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 49777 Cappi at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters