Discovered by P. Shajn MPC designation 1390 Abastumani Discovered 3 October 1935 Orbits Sun Discovery site Simeiz Observatory | Discovery date 3 October 1935 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 9.4 Discoverer Pelageya Shajn Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Abastumani
(Georgian town) Alternative names 1935 TA · 1926 GN
1929 UL · A907 GN
A916 VA Similar 276 Adelheid, 132 Aethra, 847 Agnia, 193 Ambrosia, 265 Anna | ||
1390 Abastumani, provisional designation 1935 TA, is a large, rare-type asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 101 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 October 1935, by Soviet–Russian astronomer Pelageya Shajn at Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. On the same night, the asteroid was independently discovered by South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory. It was one of the last large-sized bodies discovered in the outer belt (also see 1269 Rollandia and 1902 Shaposhnikov, discovered in 1930 and 1972, respectively).
The dark and reddish asteroid is classified as a rare P-type asteroid in the Tholen taxonomic scheme, of which only a few dozens bodies are currently known. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.3–3.6 AU once every 6 years and 4 months (2,326 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.03 and an inclination of 20° with respect to the ecliptic. The first used precovery was taken at Lowell Observatory in 1929, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 6 years prior to its discovery.
In April 2002, a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observation by astronomer John Gross at the U.S. Sonoran Skies Observatory (G94) in Benson, Arizona. It gave a rotation period of 7001171000000000000♠17.100±0.005 hours with a brightness variation of 0.15 in magnitude (U=2).
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures between 98.3 and 107.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has a very low albedo between 0.026 and 0.033. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by IRAS, i.e. a diameter of 101.5 kilometers and an albedo of 0.0298.
The minor planet is named after the spa town of Abastumani located in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. It is now the place where the Abastuman Astronomical Observatory (code 119) is situated (M.P.C. 838).