762 Pulcova

762 Pulcova is a main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by Grigoriy N. Neujmin in 1913,<ref name=jpldata/> and is named after Pulkovo Observatory, near Saint Petersburg. Pulcova is 137 km in diameter,<ref name=jpldata>Template:Cite web</ref> and is a C-type asteroid, which means that it is dark in colouring with a carbonate composition.

Photometric observations of this asteroid from Leura, Australia during 2006 gave a light curve with a period of 5.8403 ± 0.0005 hours and a brightness variation of 0.20 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This result is in agreement with previous studies.<ref name="Oey2006"/>

Satellite

Pulcova and its satellite imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in January 2005

Diagram of 762 Pulcova's orbit

On February 22, 2000,<ref name=CFHT2000>Template:Cite web (AO image)</ref> astronomers at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, discovered a 15-km moon (roughly a tenth the size of the primary)<ref name=swri2000>Template:Cite web (mentions both 90 Antiope and 762 Pulcova)</ref> orbiting Pulcova at a distance of 800 km.<ref name="Merline2000"/> Its orbital period is 4 days.<ref name="Johnston">Template:Cite web</ref> The satellite is about 4 magnitudes fainter than the primary.<ref name="Merline2000"/> It was one of the first asteroid moons to be identified.

Density

In the year 2000, Merline estimated Pulcova to have a density of 1.8 g/cm³, which would make it more dense than the triple asteroid 45 Eugenia, and binary 90 Antiope.<ref name="Merline2000">Template:Cite web</ref> But estimates by Marchis in 2008 suggest a density of only 0.90 g/cm³,<ref name=Baer> Template:Cite web </ref> suggesting it may be a loosely packed rubble pile, not a monolithic object.

External links

• Asteroids with Satellites, Robert Johnston, johnstonsarchive.net
• Template:AstDys
• Template:JPL small body