Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | P. Sicoli V. Giuliani |
Discovery site | Sormano Obs. |
Discovery date | 5 February 1995 |
Designations | |
(6882) Sormano | |
Named after | Sormano Observatory (discovering observatory)[2] |
1995 CC1 · 1986 XM2 1989 OW · 1993 OQ | |
Orbital characteristics [3] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 27.85 yr (10,173 days) |
Aphelion | 2.8043 AU |
Perihelion | 2.2997 AU |
2.5520 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.0989 |
4.08 yr (1,489 days) | |
327.31° | |
0° 14m 30.48s / day | |
Inclination | 14.390° |
284.19° | |
16.030° | |
Physical characteristics | |
6.69 km (calculated)[4] 7.665±0.101 km[5] 8.096±0.040 km[6] | |
3.6901±0.0006 h[7] 3.998344±0.000001 h[8] | |
0.21 (assumed)[4] 0.269±0.034[6] 0.3003±0.0545[5] | |
S (family-based)[4] | |
12.5[5] · 12.7[3] · 12.736±0.003 (R)[7] · 13.19[4] | |
6882 Sormano (prov. designation: 1995 CC1) is an stony Eunomia asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 5 February 1995, by Italian amateur astronomers Piero Sicoli and Valter Giuliani at Sormano Astronomical Observatory in northern Italy.[1] The asteroid was named for the Italian mountain-village of Sormano and its discovering observatory.[2]
Sormano is a member of the Eunomia family, a large group of S-type asteroids and the most prominent family in the intermediate main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.3–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,489 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The asteroid's observation arc begins 6 years prior to its discovery, as it had previously been observed as 1989 OW at Palomar Observatory in 1989.[1]
This minor planet was named in honor of the Italian mountain-village of Sormano and its discovering nearby observatory. It is funded, built and operated by the "Gruppo Astrofili Brianza", a group of Italian amateur astronomers who have discovered numerous minor planets.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 3 May 1996 (M.P.C. 27130).[9]
In September 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Sormano was obtained from photometric observations made at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. It gave a rotation period of 3.6901 hours with a high brightness variation of 0.71 magnitude, indicative of a non-spheroidal shape (U=2).[7] A similar period of 3.998 hours was derived from remodeled data of the Lowell photometric database (n.a.).[8]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Sormano measures 7.6 to 8.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.269 and 0.300.[5][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo 0.21 – derived from 15 Eunomia, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 6.69 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.19.[4]