790 Pretoria

790 Pretoria is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by English astronomer Harry Edwin Wood on January 16, 1912. It is a member of the Cybele group located beyond the core of the main belt^[4] (see Minor planet groups) and named after Pretoria, the capital city of South Africa.

790 Pretoria

Discovery
Discovered by	H. E. Wood
Discovery site	Johannesburg Observatory
Discovery date	16 January 1912
Designations
MPC designation	(790) Pretoria
Pronunciation	/prɪˈtɔːriə/[1]
Alternative designations	1912 NW
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	92.04 yr (33619 d)
Aphelion	3.9279 AU (587.61 Gm)
Perihelion	2.8955 AU (433.16 Gm)
Semi-major axis	3.4117 AU (510.38 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.15130
Orbital period (sidereal)	6.30 yr (2301.7 d)
Mean anomaly	87.1149°
Mean motion	0° 9m 23.04s / day
Inclination	20.526°
Longitude of ascending node	252.032°
Argument of perihelion	38.637°
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	85.185±1.3 km[2] 80.49 ± 5.58 km[3]
Mass	(4.58 ± 0.28) × 1018 kg[3]
Mean density	2.09 ± 0.45 g/cm3[3]
Synodic rotation period	10.37 h (0.432 d)
Geometric albedo	0.0384±0.001
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.00

10μ radiometric data collected from Kitt Peak in 1975 gave a diameter estimate of 175 km.^[5] In the present day it is estimated to be 170 km (106 mi) in diameter.^[2] Photometric measurements of the asteroid made in 2005 at the Palmer Divide Observatory showed a light curve with a period of 10.370 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.08 ± 0.03 in magnitude.^[6]

790 Pretoria has been observed to occult 15 stars between 1998 and 2023.