16765 Agnesi

Orbit and classification

Agnesi is a member of the Eunomia family, a large group of S-type asteroids and the most prominent family in the central main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.3–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,553 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first observed by Haleakala–NEAT/GEODSS (566), extending the asteroid's observation arc by 32 days prior to its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

Diameter and albedo

According to the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Agnesi measures 4.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.28, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.21 – derived from 15 Eunomia, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 3.8 kilometers.

Lightcurves

A rotational lightcurve of Agnesi was obtained from photometric observations taken by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in September 2013. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of hours with a brightness variation of magnitude ().

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Italian Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718–1799), who was the first Western woman to write a widely translated mathematics handbook and the first woman appointed to a professorship at a university in 1750. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 9 January 2001 (M.P.C. 41941).

References