4944 Kozlovskij

Classification

Kozlovskij is a member of the Witt family (535), a large family of (predominantly) stony asteroids with more than 1,600 known members. It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.6–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,661 days; semi-major axis of 2.75 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins 36 years prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in December 1951.

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS classification, Kozlovskij is a Cb-type asteroid, an intermediary between the carbonaceous C-type and the somewhat brighter B-type asteroids.

Lightcurves

In October 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Kozlovskij was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.573 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.46 magnitude ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Kozlovskij measures 9.25 and 9.89 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.157 and 0.09, respectively. Preliminary WISE results gave a larger diameter of 10.85 and 11.125 kilometers with lower albedo of 0.086 and 0.061, respectively.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 9.91 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.75.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Russian opera singer Ivan Kozlovsky (1900–1993), who was a rare lyric tenor and a popular singer in the former Soviet Union. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 September 1993 (M.P.C. 22504).

References