10476 Los Molinos

10476 Los Molinos, provisional designation 1981 EY38, is a stony background asteroid and slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 March 1981, by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. The asteroid was named for the Los Molinos Observatory in Uruguay.[2]

10476 Los Molinos
Discovery [1]
Discovered byS. J. Bus
Discovery siteSiding Spring Obs.
Discovery date2 March 1981
Designations
(10476) Los Molinos
Named after
Los Molinos Observatory [2]
(Uruguayan observatory)
1981 EY38 · 1978 NB3
main-belt · (inner) [3]
background [4]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc39.31 yr (14,358 days)
Aphelion2.9165 AU
Perihelion1.7185 AU
2.3175 AU
Eccentricity0.2585
3.53 yr (1,289 days)
95.559°
0° 16m 45.84s / day
Inclination9.4472°
249.86°
38.678°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions2.853±0.014 km[5][6]
2.96 km (calculated)[3]
267.906±1.9703 h[7]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
0.3424±0.0425[5][6]
S [3]
14.4[6] · 14.556±0.003 (R)[7] · 14.6[1] · 15.01[3] · 15.33±0.50[8]

    Orbit and classification

    Los Molinos is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[4] It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.7–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,289 days; semi-major axis of 2.32 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins with its first observations as 1978 NB3 at Crimea–Nauchnij in July 1978.[2]

    Physical characteristics

    Based on its high albedo and its location within the asteroid belt, Los Molinos is an assumed S-type asteroid.[3]

    Rotation period

    In August 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Los Molinos was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 267.906±1.9703 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.33 magnitude (U=2).[7] This makes Los Molinos one of the top 200 slow rotators known to exist.[3]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Los Molinos measures 2.853 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.34.[5][6]

    The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.96 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 15.01.[3]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after the Los Molinos Observatory (844) located near Montevideo in Uruguay. The observatory is known for its astrometric follow-up observations of asteroids and comets.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 April 2017 (M.P.C. 103975/103976).[9]

    References
    1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 10476 Los Molinos (1981 EY38)" (2017-10-30 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
    2. "10476 Los Molinos (1981 EY38)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
    3. "LCDB Data for (10476) Los Molinos". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 20 February 2018.
    4. "Asteroid 10476 Los Molinos – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
    5. Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
    6. Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
    7. Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75.
    8. Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007.
    9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
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