Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | E. Bowell |
Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
Discovery date | 13 October 1982 |
Designations | |
(7866) Sicoli | |
Named after | Piero Sicoli (discoverer of minor planets)[2] |
1982 TK · 1954 CT 1959 OD | |
main-belt · Nysa [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 63.01 yr (23,016 days) |
Aphelion | 2.9392 AU |
Perihelion | 1.9165 AU |
2.4279 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.2106 |
3.78 yr (1,382 days) | |
112.12° | |
0° 15m 37.8s / day | |
Inclination | 3.4801° |
77.978° | |
253.20° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 5.604±0.199 km[4][5] 6.34 km (calculated)[3] |
0.21 (assumed)[3] 0.2455±0.0504[5] 0.246±0.050[4] | |
S [3] | |
13.28±0.28[6] · 13.3[1][3] · 13.4[5] | |
7866 Sicoli, provisional designation 1982 TK, is a stony Nysa asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 October 1982, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona.[7] The asteroid was named after Italian astronomer Piero Sicoli.[2]
Sicoli is a member of the stony subgroup of the Nysa family, one of the smaller families in the main-belt, named after its namesake, 44 Nysa. The body orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,382 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.21 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Palomar Mountain in 1954, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 28 years prior to its discovery.[7]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Sicoli measures 6.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.246,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.21 and calculates a diameter of 5.6 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 13.3.[3]
As of 2016, no rotational lightcurve has been obtained for this asteroid and its rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][3]
This minor planet was named in honor of Italian astronomer Piero Sicoli (born 1954), a discoverer of minor planets and Observation Coordinator at the Sormano Astronomical Observatory in northern Italy.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 July 1999 (M.P.C. 35488).[8]