Discovered by T. Seki MPC designation 3785 Kitami Observation arc 37.37 yr (13,650 days) Discovered 30 November 1986 | Discovery date 30 November 1986 Orbital period 2,127 days Orbits Sun Named after Kitami (Japanese city) Discovery site Geisei Observatory | |
Alternative names 1986 WM · 1934 TG1957 UM · 1979 OO21980 UU | ||
3785 Kitami, provisional designation 1986 WM, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Japanese astronomer Tsutomu Seki at Geisei Observatory on 30 November 1986.
The C-type asteroid is a member of the Themis family, a dynamical family of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 10 months (2,124 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic. The first observation was made at Simeiz Observatory in 1934, and the first used precovery was taken at the Australian Siding Spring Observatory in 1979, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery date.
In December 2009, a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations by amateur astronomer René Roy at his at Blauvac Observatory, France. The light-curve gave a rotation period of 7000379920000000000♠3.7992±0.0004 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30 in magnitude (U=3-).
Based on the survey carried out by NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 19.7 and 20.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.066 and 0.072, respectively, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 17.1 kilometers.
The minor planet is named for the Japanese city of Kitami, where the Kitami Observatory – known for its many astrometric observations of small Solar System bodies by amateur astronomers – is located. Kitami is a "friendship city" of the discoverer’s own city of Kochi (also see 2396 Kochi), and is located on the island on Hokkaido, after which the minor planet 3720 Hokkaido is named. Naming citation was published on 27 August 1988 (M.P.C. 13482).