3176 Paolicchi

3176 Paolicchi, provisional designation 1980 VR₁, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 34 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 1980, by Serbian astronomer Zoran Knežević at the Konkoly Observatory's Piszkéstető Station northeast of Budapest, Hungary.^[8]

3176 Paolicchi

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Z. Knežević
Discovery site	Piszkéstető Stn.
Discovery date	13 November 1980
Designations
MPC designation	(3176) Paolicchi
Named after	Paolo Paolicchi (astrophysicist)[2]
Alternative designations	1980 VR1 · 1931 UP 1941 WC · 1941 WG1 1951 XF1 · 1956 XD 1965 UD · 1968 HM1 1975 XU · 1978 JG 1978 LQ · A902 WG
Minor planet category	main-belt · (outer) [3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	114.53 yr (41,832 days)
Aphelion	2.9658 AU
Perihelion	2.7854 AU
Semi-major axis	2.8756 AU
Eccentricity	0.0314
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.88 yr (1,781 days)
Mean anomaly	170.54°
Mean motion	0° 12m 7.56s / day
Inclination	18.114°
Longitude of ascending node	53.209°
Argument of perihelion	25.596°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	31.84±0.68 km[4] 33.83 km (derived)[3] 33.94±2.8 km (IRAS 15)[1] 41.33±0.36 km[5]
Synodic rotation period	20.4±0.5 h[6]
Geometric albedo	0.038±0.007[5] 0.0511 (derived)[3] 0.0669±0.012 (IRAS 15)[1] 0.081±0.004[4]
Spectral type	C[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	10.90[4] · 11.10[5] · 11.2[1][3] · 11.47±0.24[7]

Orbit and classification

The dark C-type asteroid orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,781 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.03 and an inclination of 18° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] First identified as A902 WG at Heidelberg Observatory in 1902, the first used observation was made at the U.S. Lowell Observatory in 1931, when Paolicchi was identified as 1931 UP, extending its observation arc by 49 years prior to its official discovery observation.^[8]

Physical characteristics

It has a rotation period of 20.400 hours^[6] and an albedo in the range of 0.04–0.08, according to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission.^[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.05.^[3] Estimated diameters for Paolicchi range between 31.8 and 41.3 kilometers.^[1][3][4][5]

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Italian astrophysicist Paolo Paolicchi (b. 1950) at the University of Pisa, whose research activity included the study on the dynamical and collisional history of Small Solar System bodies and the origin of planetary and stellar systems. Paolicchi's work on minor planets has focused on the modeling of catastrophic breakup events and on the evolution of their rotational properties.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 7 September 1987 (M.P.C. 12209).^[9]