Discovered by Z. Knežević MPC designation 3176 Paolicchi Discovered 13 November 1980 Orbits Sun | Discovery date 13 November 1980 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 10.9 Discoverer Zoran Knežević Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Paolo Paolicchi (astrophysicist) Alternative names 1980 VR1 · 1931 UP1941 WC · 1941 WG11951 XF1 · 1956 XD1965 UD · 1968 HM11975 XU · 1978 JG1978 LQ · A902 WG People also search for 3171 Wangshouguan, 3173 McNaught | ||
3176 Paolicchi, provisional designation 1980 VR1, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 34 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 1980, by Serbian astronomer Zoran Knežević at the Konkoly Observatory's Piszkéstető Station northeast of Budapest, Hungary.
The dark C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.8–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,783 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.03 and an inclination of 18° with respect to the ecliptic. First identified as A902 WG at Heidelberg Observatory in 1902, the first used observation was made at the U.S. Lowell Observatory in 1931, when Paolicchi was identified as 1931 UP, extending its observation arc by 49 years prior to its official discovery observation.
It has a rotation period of 20.400 hours and an albedo in the range of 0.04–0.08, according to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.05. Estimated diameters for Paolicchi range between 31.8 and 41.3 kilometers.
The minor planet was named in honor of Italian astrophysicist Paolo Paolicchi (b. 1950) at the University of Pisa, whose research activity included the study on the dynamical and collisional history of Small Solar System bodies and the origin of planetary and stellar systems. Paolicchi's work on minor planets has focused on the modeling of catastrophic breakup events and on the evolution of their rotational properties. Naming citation was published on 7 September 1987 (M.P.C. 12209).