1390 Abastumani ( ''prov. designation'': ) is a very large and dark background asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 3 October 1935, by Russian astronomer Pelageya Shajn at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The primitive

P-type asteroid P-type asteroids are asteroids that have low albedo and a featureless reddish spectrum. It has been suggested that they have a composition of organic rich silicates, carbon and anhydrous silicates, possibly with water ice in their interior. P-type ...

has a

rotation period The rotation period of a celestial object (e.g., star, gas giant, planet, moon, asteroid) may refer to its sidereal rotation period, i.e. the time that the object takes to complete a single revolution around its axis of rotation relative to the ...

of 17.1 hours and measures approximately in diameter. It was named for the Georgian town of Abastumani.

Orbit and classification

The dark and reddish asteroid is classified as a rare

in the

Tholen Tholen () is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality. The municipality consists of two peninsu ...

taxonomic scheme, of which only a few dozens bodies are currently known. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.3–3.6 AU once every 6 years and 4 months (2,326 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.03 and an inclination of 20 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The first used

precovery In astronomy, precovery (short for pre-discovery recovery) is the process of finding the image of an object in images or photographic plates predating its discovery, typically for the purpose of calculating a more accurate orbit. This happens mos ...

was taken at

Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...

in 1929, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 6 years prior to its discovery.

Discovery

''Abastumani'' was discovered on 3 October 1935, by Soviet–Russian astronomer Pelageya Shajn at Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. On the same night, the asteroid was independently discovered by South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory. It was one of the last large-sized bodies discovered in the outer belt ''(also see

1269 Rollandia 1269 Rollandia, provisional designation , is a dark Hildian asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 20 September 1930, by Soviet astronomer Grigory Neujmin at the Simeiz Observato ...

and

1902 Shaposhnikov 1902 Shaposhnikov ( ''prov. designation'': ) is a dark Hilda asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately 92 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 April 1972, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crime ...

, discovered in 1930 and 1972, respectively)''.

Naming

This minor planet is named after the spa town of Abastumani located in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. It is now the place where the Abastuman Astronomical Observatory is situated. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

in November 1952 ().

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen classification, ''Abastumani'' is a primitive, carbonaceous

, a common spectral type in the outer main-belt and among the

Jupiter trojan The Jupiter trojans, commonly called trojan asteroids or simply trojans, are a large group of asteroids that share the planet Jupiter's orbit around the Sun. Relative to Jupiter, each trojan librates around one of Jupiter's stable Lagrange poin ...

population.

Rotation period

In April 2002, a rotational lightcurve of ''Abastumani'' was obtained from photometric observation by astronomer

John Gross John Gross FRSL (12 March 1935 – 10 January 2011) was an eminent English man of letters. A leading intellectual, writer, anthologist, and critic, ''The Guardian'' (in a tribute titled "My Hero") and ''The Spectator'' were among several pub ...

at the U.S. ''Sonoran Skies Observatory'' in Benson, Arizona. It gave a

of hours with a brightness variation of 0.15 in magnitude ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures between 98.3 and 107.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has a very low albedo between 0.026 and 0.033. The ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' adopts the results obtained by IRAS, i.e. a diameter of 101.5 kilometers and an albedo of 0.0298.

References

External links

Lightcurve Database Query
(LCDB), at ''www.minorplanet.info''
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
Google books

– ''Geneva Observatory'', Raoul Behrend
Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000)
– Minor Planet Center * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abastumani 001390 Discoveries by Pelageya Shajn Named minor planets 001390 19351003