Discovered by G. Kulin MPC designation 1444 Pannonia Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 11.3 Discoverer György Kulin Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 6 January 1938 Alternative names 1938 AE Discovered 6 January 1938 Orbits Sun Discovery site Konkoly Observatory | |
Named after Pannonia (ancient province) People also search for 1436 Salonta, Sun, 1546 Izsák | ||
1444 Pannonia, provisional designation 1938 AE, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 29 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 January 1938, by Hungarian astronomer György Kulin at Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary.
Pannonia is a C-type asteroid. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,044 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.14 and an inclination of 18° with respect to the ecliptic. Pannonia's observation arc begins 3 weeks after its official discovery at Konkoly, as no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.
In April 2001, astronomer Colin Bembrick obtained the first rotational light-curve of Pannonia at Tarana Observatory (431) in Australia. Light-curve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 10.756 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.16 magnitude (U=3). In 2002 and 2004, photometric observations by French astronomers Laurent Bernasconi and Bernard Christophe Additional periods of 6.2 and 6.205 hours with an amplitude of 0.57 and 0.37, respectively (U=2-/2).
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Pannonia measures between 26.36 and 31.49 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.04 and 0.47. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0501 and a diameter of 27.14 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.7.
This minor planet was named for Pannonia, an ancient province of the Roman Empire, which was partially located over the territory of the present-day western Hungary. Naming citation was published on 1 February 1980 (M.P.C. 5182).