(444030) 2004 NT33

(444030) 2004 NT₃₃ is a trans-Neptunian object from the classical Kuiper belt, approximately 450 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 July 2004, by astronomers at Palomar Observatory, California, United States.^[6]

(444030) 2004 NT₃₃

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Palomar team
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	13 July 2004
Designations
MPC designation	(444030) 2004 NT33
Alternative designations	2004 NT33
Minor planet category	TNO[1] · cubewano[2] Extended[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc	33.99 yr (12,415 days)
Earliest precovery date	10 August 1982
Aphelion	50.014 AU
Perihelion	36.838 AU
Semi-major axis	43.426 AU
Eccentricity	0.1517
Orbital period (sidereal)	286.18 yr (104,527 days)
Mean anomaly	41.709°
Mean motion	0° 0m 12.24s / day
Inclination	31.231°
Longitude of ascending node	240.87°
Argument of perihelion	37.400°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	423+87 −80 km[4]
Synodic rotation period	7.87±0.05 h[2]
Geometric albedo	0.125[4]
Apparent magnitude	20.94[5]
Absolute magnitude (H)	4.4[2] · 4.7[1]

Orbit and classification

2004 NT₃₃ is a "cubewano", a classical, low-eccentricity object in the Kuiper belt, that orbits the Sun at a distance of 36.8–50.0 AU once every 286 years and 2 months (104,527 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 31° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] It is currently 39 AU from the Sun.^[5]

A first precovery was taken at the Siding Spring Observatory in 1982, extending the body's observation arc by 22 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.^[6]

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

In 2009, astronomers obtained a rotational lightcurve of 2004 NT₃₃ from photometric observations, which were taken at the Galileo National Telescope (TNG) on the island of La Palma, and at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Granada, both located in Spain. The ambiguous lightcurve gave a rotation period of 7.87 hours with a low brightness amplitude of 0.04 magnitude.^[2]

Diameter and albedo

According to the "TNOs are Cool" survey, using observations from the space-based Herschel and Spitzer telescopes, 2004 NT₃₃ measures 423 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a visual geometric albedo of 0.125.^[4]

Naming

As of 2025^[update], this minor planet remains unnamed.^[6]