7794 Sanvito

7794 Sanvito, provisional designation 1996 AD4, is a bright Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.6 kilometers (2.9 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 15 January 1996, by Italian astronomers Ulisse Munari and Maura Tombelli at the Cima Ekar Observing Station in Tuscany, Italy.[1] The likely V-type asteroid was named after Italian amateur astronomer Roberto di San Vito.

7794 Sanvito
Discovery [1]
Discovered byU. Munari
M. Tombelli
Discovery siteCima Ekar Observing Stn.
Discovery date15 January 1996
Designations
(7794) Sanvito
Named after
Roberto di San Vito [1]
(Italian amateur astronomer)
1996 AD4 · 1980 TH6
1987 QG5 · 1987 SM24
1987 UF7 · 1993 HC8
main-belt [1][2] · (inner)
Vesta [3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc37.30 yr (13,625 d)
Aphelion2.6417 AU
Perihelion1.9626 AU
2.3021 AU
Eccentricity0.1475
3.49 yr (1,276 d)
308.03°
0° 16m 55.92s / day
Inclination5.6731°
221.43°
86.191°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
4.558±0.169 km[4]
0.309±0.092[4]
14.0[2]

    Orbit and classification

    Sanvito is a core member of the Vesta family.[3] Vestian asteroids have a composition akin to cumulate eucrites (HED meteorites) and are thought to have originated deep within 4 Vesta's crust, possibly from the Rheasilvia crater, a large impact crater on its southern hemisphere near the South pole, formed as a result of a subcatastrophic collision. Vesta is the main belt's second-largest and second-most-massive body after Ceres.[5][6]

    It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,276 days; semi-major axis of 2.3 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins with its first observations as 1980 TH6 at Crimea-Nauchnij in October 1980, more than 15 years prior to its official discovery observation at Cima Ekar.[1]

    Physical characteristics

    Sanvito has an absolute magnitude of 14.0.[2] Its spectral type is unknown. Based on its high albedo (see below) measured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and its classification into the Vesta family, Sanvito is likely a V-type asteroid. As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of this asteroid has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Sanvito measures 4.558 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.309.[4]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after Roberto di San Vito, an Italian amateur astronomer committed to astrometric observations. He is also a supporter of a new observatory in Montelupo Fiorentino, Tuscany.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 5 October 1998 (M.P.C. 32790).[7]

    In fiction

    In the "Sources" section of the science fiction novel 3001: The Final Odyssey, the author, Arthur C. Clarke, jokingly refers to a prediction he made in the first book of the series, 2001: A Space Odyssey (published in 1968), of an Asteroid 7794 being discovered by a "lunar observatory" in 1997.[8] This asteroid had a projectile fired at it by the spaceship Discovery as it passed by on its way to Saturn so that instruments aboard the Discovery might analyze the asteroid's composition.

    gollark: I'm probably not Russian, so no.
    gollark: Oh, sorry, I might have accidentally feedback.
    gollark: And yes.
    gollark: Audio, probably.
    gollark: https://images-ext-2.discordapp.net/external/5lkicEOU33i-vZuEyUpyW9YNtlnA7jlsywl-objzl7I/https/hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1280px-SF6_mm.png?width=1104&height=623

    References
    1. "7794 Sanvito (1996 AD4)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
    2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 7794 Sanvito (1996 AD4)" (2018-01-27 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
    3. "Asteroid 7794 Sanvito – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
    4. Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
    5. Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families. Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
    6. Kelley, Michael S.; Vilas, Faith; Gaffey, Michael J.; Abell, Paul A. (September 2003). "Quantified mineralogical evidence for a common origin of 1929 Kollaa with 4 Vesta and the HED meteorites". Icarus. 165 (1): 215–218. Bibcode:2003Icar..165..215K. doi:10.1016/S0019-1035(03)00149-0.
    7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
    8. Clarke, Arthur Charles (1997). 3001: The Final Odyssey. London: HarperCollins. p. 261. ISBN 0-586-06624-1.

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