4185 Phystech

4185 Phystech, provisional designation 1975 ED, is a Florian or background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 4 March 1975, by Soviet astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean peninsula.[1] The presumed S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 4.67 hours. It is named in honor of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology ("PhysTech") on its 50th anniversary.[1]

4185 Phystech
Discovery [1]
Discovered byT. Smirnova
Discovery siteCrimean Astrophysical Obs.
Discovery date4 March 1975
Designations
(4185) Phystech
Named after
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology [1]
1975 ED · 1982 KD
1982 KH4 · 1988 BT
main-belt [1][2] · (inner)
background [3][4] · Flora [5]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc64.48 yr (23,550 d)
Aphelion2.4339 AU
Perihelion2.0008 AU
2.2174 AU
Eccentricity0.0977
3.30 yr (1,206 d)
311.69°
0° 17m 54.6s / day
Inclination2.2303°
265.78°
320.99°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
5.93 km (calculated)[5]
4.66883±0.00014 h[6]
4.66904±0.00003 h[6]
0.24 (assumed)[5]
S (assumed)[5]
13.3[2][5]

    Orbit and classification

    Phystech is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements.[3][4] Based on osculating Keplerian orbital elements, the asteroid has also been classified as a member of the Flora family (402), a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[5]

    It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–2.4 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,206 days; semi-major axis of 2.22 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in October 1953, more than 21 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nauchnij.[1]

    Physical characteristics

    Phystech is an assumed stony S-type asteroid, based on its family classification.[5]

    Rotation period

    In March and April 2008, two rotational lightcurves of Phystech were obtained from photometric observations by American astronomers at LPL and Calvin College (H62). Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 4.66883 and 4.66904 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.53 and 0.41 magnitude, respectively (U=3/3).[6]

    Diameter and albedo

    The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the parent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 5.93 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.3.[5]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (informally: "PhysTech"; Физтех) on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 1996, based on a proposal by the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (ITA) in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 February 1997 (M.P.C. 29143).[7]

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    References
    1. "4185 Phystech (1975 ED)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4185 Phystech (1975 ED)" (2018-03-24 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    3. "Small Bodies Data Ferret". Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    4. "Asteroid 4185 Phystech – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
    5. "LCDB Data for (4185) Phystech". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    6. Dykhuis, Melissa J.; Molnar, Lawrence A.; Gates, Christopher J.; Gonzales, Joshua A.; Huffman, Jared J.; Maat, Aaron R.; et al. (March 2016). "Efficient spin sense determination of Flora-region asteroids via the epoch method". Icarus. 267: 174–203. Bibcode:2016Icar..267..174D. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.021. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
    7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 April 2018.

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