152188 Morricone, provisional designation ', is a background

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 27 August 2005, by astronomers

Franco Mallia This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 numb ...

and Alain Maury at the Campo Catino Austral Observatory (CAO), San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, a robotic station of the Italian

Campo Catino Astronomical Observatory This is a list of observatory codes (IAU codes or MPC codes) published by the Minor Planet Center. For a detailed description, ''see observations of small Solar System bodies Observations of minor planets as well as comets and natural satellit ...

. The asteroid was named for Italian composer

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

Orbit and classification

When applying the hierarchical clustering method to the asteroid's proper orbital elements, ''Morricone'' is both a non- family asteroid from the main belt's background population (according to Nesvorný), and a distant member of the Eunomia family (according to Milani and Knežević). It 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 ...

asteroid belt at a distance of 2.1–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,494 days;

semi-major axis In geometry, the major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter: a line segment that runs through the center and both foci, with ends at the two most widely separated points of the perimeter. The semi-major axis (major semiaxis) is the long ...

of 2.56 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 15 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its observation by AMOS at Haleakala Observatory in August 2001, or four years prior to its official discovery observation by CAO at San Pedro de Atacama in Chile.

Physical characteristics

The asteroid's spectral type is unknown.

Diameter and albedo

''Morricone'' has not been observed by any of the space-based surveys such as the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite or the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, the asteroid measures 2.3 and 4.2 kilometers in diameter based on an absolute magnitude of 15.6 and a geometric albedo of 0.06 and 0.20, which roughly correspond to a body of carbonaceous and stony composition, respectively (both types are common in the central asteroid belt).

Rotation period

As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of ''Morricone'' has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's

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 ...

, shape and

poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

remain unknown.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Italian composer

(1928–2020), who wrote over 500 scores for cinema and television, including several famous

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

s. The official 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 1 June 2007 ().

References

External links

Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)
query form

)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
Google books

– Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend

– Minor Planet Center * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morricone 152188 Discoveries by Franco Mallia Discoveries by Alain Maury Named minor planets 20050827