Discovered by J. Dellinger Minor planet category main-belt (outer) Absolute magnitude 15.4 Discovery site Brazos Bend State Park | Discovery date 4 August 2003 Alternative names 2003 PZ9 Discovered 4 August 2003 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
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78816 Caripito, provisional designation 2003 PZ9, is an asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 August 2003, by American amateur astronomer and professor of geophysics, Joseph Dellinger, at the U.S. Needville Observatory, Texas.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,033 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was taken at Palomar's Digitized Sky Survey in 1953, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 50 years prior to its discovery.
As of 2016, the Caripito's composition and albedo, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown. According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 5.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.052. This low albedo is typical for asteroids in the outer main-belt, which are mostly of a carbonaceous rather than of a silicaceous composition. Based on an absolute magnitude of 15.4, and assuming an albedo of 0.05, the asteroid's generic diameter measures between 2 and 5 kilometers.
This minor planet is named for the Venezuelan town of Caripito in the northeastern Monagas State. It was the place where the parents of the discoverer, Thomas Baynes Dellinger (b. 1926) and María de la Garza Cantú (b. 1928), met in 1949. At the time, the town was a base camp for the country's rich Quiriquire oil field. Naming citation was published on 18 September 2005 (M.P.C. 54829).