1849 Kresák

1849 Kresák
	Shape model of Kresák from its lightcurve
Discovery
Discovered by	K. Reinmuth
Discovery site	Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date	14 January 1942
Designations
MPC designation	(1849) Kresák
Named after	Ľubor Kresák; (Slovak astronomer)
Alternative designations	1942 AB · 1948 EO; 1951 WC2
Minor planet category	main-belt · (outer); Eos
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	75.29 yr (27,500 days)
Aphelion	3.1076 AU
Perihelion	3.0009 AU
Semi-major axis	3.0542 AU
Eccentricity	0.0175
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.34 yr (1,950 days)
Mean anomaly	353.13°
Mean motion	0° 11m 4.92s / day
Inclination	10.765°
Longitude of ascending node	50.363°
Argument of perihelion	143.25°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	21.776±2.427 km; 26.14 km (calculated)
Synodic rotation period	19.1008±0.0153 h
Geometric albedo	0.057 (assumed); 0.114±0.032
Spectral type	C (assumed)
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.191±0.002 (R) · 11.28 · 11.5 · 11.61±0.32 · 11.64

1849 Kresák (prov. designation: 1942 AB) is a carbonaceous Eos asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 24 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in the middle of World War II on 14 January 1942.^[8] The asteroid was later named after Slovak astronomer Ľubor Kresák.^[2]

Orbit and classification

Kresák is a member of the Eos family (606), the largest asteroid family in the outer main belt consisting of nearly 10,000 asteroids.^[4]^[9]^: 23 It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 3.0–3.1 AU once every 5 years and 4 months (1,950 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.02 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] The body's observation arc begins 6 days after its official discovery observation.^[8]

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Slovak astronomer Ľubor Kresák (1927–1994) from the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava and president of IAU's Commission 20 in the 1970s.^[2]

Kresák is known for his theoretical work on meteors and the question of their relationship with comets and minor planets, as well as for the rediscovery of the short-period comet 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresák at the Skalnaté Pleso Observatory in 1951.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3935).^[10]

Physical characteristics

Kresák has been characterized as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid.^[3]

Rotation period

In January 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Kresák was obtained from photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. In the R-band, it gave a rotation period of 19.10 hours with a brightness variation of 0.19 magnitude (U=2).^[6]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kresák measures 21.7 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.114,^[5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 26.1 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.64.^[3]