3951 Zichichi

3951 Zichichi, provisional designation 1986 CK₁, is a stony Florian asteroid and binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 12 February 1986, by staff members at the San Vittore Observatory near Bologna, Italy, and named after physicist Antonino Zichichi.^[2][7]

3951 Zichichi

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	San Vittore Obs.
Discovery site	San Vittore Obs.
Discovery date	13 February 1986
Designations
MPC designation	(3951) Zichichi
Named after	Antonino Zichichi (Italian nuclear physicist)[2]
Alternative designations	1986 CK1 · 1938 UG 1976 JG9 · 1979 DR 1981 UJ12 · 1986 AU2
Minor planet category	main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	40.56 yr (14,816 days)
Aphelion	2.7469 AU
Perihelion	1.9320 AU
Semi-major axis	2.3394 AU
Eccentricity	0.1742
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.58 yr (1,307 days)
Mean anomaly	355.00°
Mean motion	0° 16m 31.44s / day
Inclination	5.4133°
Longitude of ascending node	270.04°
Argument of perihelion	151.72°
Known satellites	1[4][5]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	6.720±0.213[6]
Synodic rotation period	3.39423±0.00007 h[5]
Geometric albedo	0.325±0.050[6]
Spectral type	S[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.8[1]

Orbit and classification

Zichichi is a S-type asteroid and member of the Flora family, one of the largest collisional populations of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,307 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

Physical characteristics

A minor-planet moon was discovered orbiting at a distance of 16 km in 2006, but not announced until 2011.^[4][5]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Italian nuclear physicist Antonino Zichichi.^[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 May 1989 (M.P.C. 14634).^[8]