Discovered by H. E. Holt MPC designation 5185 Alerossi Discovered 15 September 1990 Orbits Sun Discovery site Palomar Observatory | Discovery date 15 September 1990 Minor planet category main-belt · (middle) Absolute magnitude 12.5 Discoverer Henry E. Holt Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Alessandro Rossi
(geodesists) Alternative names 1990 RV2 · 1933 SE
1955 SM · 1981 RA1
1984 HG · 1986 UR4
1988 FQ3 | ||
5185 Alerossi, provisional designation 1990 RV2, is an asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 September 1990, by American astronomer Henry Holt at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.5–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 5 months (1,600 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was taken at Uccle in 1933, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 57 years prior to its discovery.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 12.9 and 13.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.08 and 0.14, respectively. It has an absolute magnitude of 12.5 (M.P.O. 253399, 25 February 2013). As of 2016, the asteroid's spectral type, rotation period and shape remain unknown.
The minor planet was named after Italian geodesists Alessandro Rossi (b. 1964), member of the Group of Satellite Flight Dynamics at the Istituto CNECE in Pisa, Italy. Expert in space geodesy and participant in the Laser Geodynamics Satellites (LAGEOS) mission, he examines Earth's artificial orbital debris, the natural debris around mission targets to improve space-craft maneuvers, and the potential hazard of Earth-crossers. Naming citation was published on 28 July 1999 (M.P.C. 61268).