Discovered by M. Tichý MPC designation 7846 Setvák Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 16 January 1996 Alternative names 1996 BJ · 1979 OZ2 Discovered 16 January 1996 Discoverer Miloš Tichý | |
Named after Stáňa and Martin Setvák(meteorologist) People also search for Sun, 8 Flora, 915 Cosette, 967 Helionape, 3412 Kafka, 428 Monachia | ||
7846 Setvák, provisional designation 1996 BJ, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 January 1996, by Czech astronomer Miloš Tichý at Kleť Observatory in South Bohemia.
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 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,316 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. Its observation arc dates back to 1979, due to precoveries obtained at the U.S. Palomar Observatory and the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia.
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 3.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.35, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes an albedo of 0.24 (in accordance with the family's largest member and namesake, 8 Flora) and calculates a diameter of 2.7 kilometers. A large-scale survey by Pan-STARRS (PS1) assigns an LS-type, presumably an intermediary spectral type between the common stony S-types and the rather rare and reddish L-type asteroids.
Two rotational light-curves were obtained through photometric observations at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in January 2014. The light-curves gave a rotation period of 2.613 and 2.610 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.11 and 0.14 in magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).
The minor planet was named in honor of Czech meteorologist Martin Setvák, head of the Satellite Department of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute,(b. 1958), to honor his 40th birthday.