Astronomy:(444030) 2004 NT33

(444030) 2004 NT₃₃

Discovery
Discovered by	Palomar team
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	13 July 2004
Designations
MPC designation	(444030) 2004 NT33
Alternative designations	2004 NT33
Minor planet category	TNO · cubewano Extended
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc	33.99 yr (12,415 days)
Earliest precovery date	10 August 1982
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}	50.014 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}	36.838 AU
Semi-major axis	43.426 AU
Eccentricity	0.1517
Orbital period	286.18 yr (104,527 days)
Mean anomaly	41.709°
Mean motion	0° 0m 12.24s / day
Inclination	31.231°
Longitude of ascending node	240.87°
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}	37.400°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	423+87 −80 km 482.53 km (calculated) 513 km (estimated)
Rotation period	7.87±0.05 h
Geometric albedo	0.08 0.10 (assumed) 0.125
Spectral type	C
Apparent magnitude	20.94
Absolute magnitude (H)	4.4 · 4.7 · 4.9

(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.

Orbit and classification

2004 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. It is currently 39 AU from the Sun.

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.

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

In 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 ({{{1}}}).

Diameter and albedo

According 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, 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.

Naming

As of 2017, this minor planet remains unnamed.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info )
• 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
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters