4962 Vecherka, provisional designation 1973 TP, is a Eunomian asteroid and slow rotator from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 October 1973, by Soviet astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean peninsula.[12] The asteroid was named after Vechernij Petersburg, a newspaper that also publishes astronomical information.[2]
It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.2–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,537 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as 1952 TFatUccle Observatory in October 1952, or 21 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nauchnij.[12]
In August 2015, a rotational lightcurveofVecherka was obtained from photometric observations by a collaboration of Bulgarian astronomers. Lightcurve analysis gave a long rotation periodof336±48 hours with a brightness variation of 1.08 magnitude (U=2), indicating that the body's shape is irregular and elongated rather than spherical.[10] This long period makes Vecherkaaslow rotator, which ranks among the Top 200 slowest ones known to exists.
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.21 – derived from 15 Eunomia, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 10.06 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.3.[9]
Based on a proposal by the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (ITA), this minor planet was named after Vechernij Petersburg, a popular evening newspaper from Saint Petersburg, Russia, that publishes astronomical information and articles popularizing astronomical knowledge on a regular basis.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 14 December 1997 (M.P.C. 31023).[14]
^ abcdMasiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8.
^ abcMasiero, 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.
