78816 Caripito

78816 Caripito, provisional designation 2003 PZ9, is a background asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 4 August 2003, by American amateur astronomer and professor of geophysics, Joseph Dellinger at the Needville Observatory in Texas, United States.[1] It was named for the town of Caripito in Venezuela.[2]

78816 Caripito
Discovery [1]
Discovered byJ. Dellinger
Discovery siteNeedville Obs.
Discovery date4 August 2003
Designations
(78816) Caripito
Named after
Caripito [2]
(Venezuelan town)
2003 PZ9
main-belt [1][3] · (outer)
background [4][5]
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc63.49 yr (23,190 d)
Aphelion3.8470 AU
Perihelion2.4559 AU
3.1514 AU
Eccentricity0.2207
5.59 yr (2,043 d)
268.80°
0° 10m 34.32s / day
Inclination5.6313°
277.97°
86.530°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
5.328±0.129 km[6]
0.052±0.008[6]
15.5[1][3]

    Orbit and classification

    Caripito is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[4][5] It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.5–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,043 days; semi-major axis of 3.15 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The first precovery, published by the Digitized Sky Survey, was taken at Palomar Observatory in September 1953, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 50 years prior to its official discovery observation.[1]

    Naming

    This minor planet is named for the Venezuelan town of Caripito in the northeastern Monagas State. It was the place where the parents of the discoverer, Thomas Baynes Dellinger (born 1926) and María de la Garza Cantú (born 1928), met in 1949. At the time, the town was a base camp for the country's rich Quiriquire oil field.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 18 September 2005 (M.P.C. 54829).[7]

    Physical characteristics

    Caripito's spectral type is unknown. It is likely of a carbonaceous rather than of a silicaceous composition due to its low albedo (see below).

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Caripito measures 5.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.052.[6] It has an absolute magnitude of 15.4.[1][3] As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Caripito has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[3][8]

    References
    1. "78816 Caripito (2003 PZ9)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). "(78816) Caripito [3.13, 0.23, 5.6]". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (78816) Caripito, Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 232. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5_2760. ISBN 978-3-540-34361-5.
    3. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 78816 Caripito (2003 PZ9)" (2017-03-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    4. "Asteroid 78816 Caripito". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    5. "Asteroid (78816) Caripito". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    6. 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. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
    7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
    8. "LCDB Data for (78816) Caripito". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 3 December 2018.

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