Discovered by L. Zhuravleva MPC designation 3771 Alexejtolstoj Observation arc 61.72 yr (22,545 days) Orbits Sun | Discovery date 20 September 1974 Discovered 20 September 1974 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Alternative names 1974 SB3 · 1954 QF1984 SG5 Discovery site | ||
3771 Alexejtolstoj, provisional designation 1974 SB3, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 September 1974, by Russian–Ukrainian astronomer Lyudmila Zhuravleva at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj on the Crimean peninsula.
The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,212 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. The first time this asteroid was observerd at Heidelberg Observatory in 1954. However, the observation was not used to extend the body's observation arc.
A fragmentary rotational light-curve was obtained from photometric observation made at the Palomar Transient Factory in California in December 2011. The light-curve gave a provisional rotation period of 7001110942000000000♠11.0942±0.0116 hours with a low brightness amplitude of 0.08 in magnitude (U=1). The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of its orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 3.7 kilometers.
The minor planet was named after Soviet writer and public figure, Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1883–1945). Naming citation was published on 19 October 1994 (M.P.C. 24121).