Discovered by N. Chernykh MPC designation 1796 Riga Observation arc 63.59 yr (23,225 days) Absolute magnitude 9.84 Discoverer Nikolai Chernykh Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 16 May 1966 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Discovered 16 May 1966 Orbits Sun Named after Riga (capital city) | |
Alternative names 1966 KB · 1935 GE
1941 FC1 · 1947 GA
1950 TF2 · 1953 GW
1960 JA · A907 TG
A907 UD Discovery site Crimean Astrophysical Observatory | ||
1796 Riga, provisional designation 1966 KB, is a dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 70 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 May 1966, by Russian astronomer Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.2–3.5 AU once every 6 years and 2 months (2,246 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 23° with respect to the ecliptic. The body was first identified as "1907 TG" at the U.S Taunton Observatory (803) in 1907, and its first used precovery was taken at the Goethe Link Observatory in 1953, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 13 years prior to its official discovery observation.
The carbonaceous C-type asteroid is also classified as a very dark and featureless reddish P-type body by the NEOWISE survey of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). In the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy, it has a XFCU and Cb subtype, respectively.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's WISE/NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures between 66.2 and 85.7 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.028 and 0.05. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) agrees with the results obtained by IRAS, adopting a diameter of 73.83 kilometers with an albedo of 0.0376, based on an absolute magnitude of 9.84.
Several rotational light-curve for this asteroid were obtained from photometric observations since 1997. They gave a variety of rotation periods from 10.608 to 22.226 hours with inconsistent brightness variations in the range of 0.05 to 0.40 magnitude (U=2/2-/n.a./2). CALL adopts the results of the most observations made by astronomer Julian Oey at the Australian Blue Mountains Observatory (Q68) in March 2014, which gave a period of 7001222260000000000♠22.226±0.001 hours and an amplitude of 6999400000000000000♠0.40±0.05 magnitude (U=2).
The minor planet was named after Riga, the capital of Latvia and location of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Latvia. The name was proposed by Matiss A. Dirikis, who was a member of the observatory at the Latvian State University, and after whom the asteroid 1805 Dirikis is named. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 3185).