14627 Emilkowalski ( ''prov. designation'': ) is a stony

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 7 November 1998, by American astronomer

Richard Kowalski Richard A. Kowalski (born 1963) is an American astronomer who has discovered numerous asteroids and comets, among them, many near-Earth objects. Kowalski has had a lifelong interest in astronomy with an emphasis on planetary science. As an am ...

at the Quail Hollow Observatory () in Zephyrhills, Florida, United States. The asteroid is the namesake of the recently formed Emilkowalski family of asteroids. It was named after Emil Kowalski, mentor of the discoverer.

Orbit and classification

''Emilkowalski'' orbits the Sun in the

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,531 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 18 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The first unused observation at

Palomar Observatory Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...

( DSS) dates back to 1953. 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

Siding Spring Observatory Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, part of the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA) at the Australian National University (ANU), incorporates the Anglo-Australian Telescope along with a coll ...

in 1975, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 23 years prior to its discovery.

Emilkowalski family

''Emilkowalski'' is the biggest member and namesake of a collisional group of asteroids, that resulted from the destruction of a larger parent body. The disruption happened approximately 220,000 years ago and it is one of the most recent asteroid breakups discovered in the main belt. The recently formed stony Emilkowalski family (family identification number: 523) consist of only 4 identified members. The other members are , and .

Naming

This minor planet is named after American Emil Kowalski (1918–1994) from Syosset, New York, who inspired the discoverer of space science when he was still a child. The approved naming citation 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 ...

on 4 August 2001 ().

Physical characteristics

''Emilkowalski'' has been characterized as a rare DL-type by Pan-STARRS photometric survey. It has also been assigned a taxonomic type of a darker carbonaceous and a common stony asteroid, respectively.

Rotation period

Between January and March 2012, photometric observations for this asteroid were made by a team led by Petr Pravec at

Ondřejov Observatory The Ondřejov Observatory (; cs, Observatoř Ondřejov) is the principal observatory of the Astronomical Institute () of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. It is located near the village of Ondřejov, southeast of Prague, Czech R ...

, Czech Republic. The three obtained rotational lightcurves gave an identical period of hours with a brightness variation of 0.55, 0.64 and 0.65 in magnitude, respectively (). Previously, in 2008, a lightcurve was obtained from observations at the Simeiz Observatory and the Chuguev Observing Station () in Ukraine, as well as at Maidanak Observatory in Uzbekistan. It also gave a period of 11.131 hours with an amplitude of 0.85 in magnitude, which implies an elongated shape ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, ''Emilkowalski'' measures between 6.98 and 7.84 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.09 and 0.201. The ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and hence calculates a larger diameter of 10.6 kilometers.

Notes

References

External links

Maidanak astronomical observatory (MAO)
of the Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute (UBAI), Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences
Lightcurve Database Query
(LCDB), at ''www.minorplanet.info''
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
Google books

– ''Geneva Observatory'', Raoul Behrend
Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (10001)-(15000)
– Minor Planet Center * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emilkowalski 014627 014627 Discoveries by Richard Kowalski Named minor planets 19981107