3040 Kozai

3040 Kozai, provisional designation 1979 BA, is a stony asteroid and Mars-crosser on a tilted orbit from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameters.

3040 Kozai

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	W. Liller
Discovery site	Cerro Tololo Obs.
Discovery date	23 January 1979
Designations
MPC designation	(3040) Kozai
Named after	Yoshihide Kozai (Japanese astronomer)[2]
Alternative designations	1979 BA
Minor planet category	Mars-crosser[1][3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	38.36 yr (14,011 days)
Aphelion	2.2096 AU
Perihelion	1.4717 AU
Semi-major axis	1.8406 AU
Eccentricity	0.2004
Orbital period (sidereal)	2.50 yr (912 days)
Mean anomaly	213.41°
Inclination	46.640°
Longitude of ascending node	143.51°
Argument of perihelion	290.19°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4–11 km (conversion)[4]
Spectral type	SMASS = S[1]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.8[1]

The asteroid was discovered by American astronomer William Liller at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, on 23 January 1979, and named after Japanese astronomer Yoshihide Kozai.^[2][3] It is considered a classical example of an object submitted to the Kozai effect, induced by an outer perturber, which in this case is the gas giant Jupiter.^[5]

Orbit and classification

Kozai orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.5–2.2 AU once every 2 years and 6 months (912 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 47° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

On 10 January 2044, the asteroid will make a close approach to Mars, passing the Red Planet at a distance of 0.034 AU (5,090,000 km).^[1]

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS classification, Kozai is a common S-type asteroid.^[1] As of 2017, little is known about its size, composition, albedo and rotation.^[1][6]

With an absolute magnitude of 13.8, Kozai's diameter can be estimated to measure between 4 and 11 kilometers, for an assumed albedo in the range of 0.05–0.25.^[4] Since Kozai is a brighter S-type asteroid rather than a darker carbonaceous body, its diameter is on the lower end of NASA's generic conversion table, as the larger the body's diameter, the lower its albedo at a constant absolute magnitude.^[4]

Naming

This minor planet was named in honour of 20th-century Japanese astronomer Yoshihide Kozai, discoverer of the periodic comet D/1977 C1 (Skiff-Kosai) and of the Kozai mechanism.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 July 1985 (M.P.C. 9770).^[7]