It was discovered on 22 March 1999, by LONEOS program at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona, United States.[9] The asteroid was named after Ukrainian astronomer Fedor Velichko.
Orbit and classification
Velichko is a core member of the Vesta family, thought to have originated from the Rheasilvia crater, a large impact crater on the south-polar surface of 4 Vesta, which is the main-belt's second-most-massive asteroid after 1 Ceres.
It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,395 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The asteroid's observation arc begins 10 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its identification as 1989 TD2 at ESO's La Silla Observatory in October 1989.[9]
Two photometric lightcurves of Velichko were obtained by French astronomer René Roy at the Blauvac Observatory (627) in France, and by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 2.899 and 2.8990 hours with a brightness variation of 0.23 and 0.29 magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).[7][6]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Velichko has a diameter of 4.8 kilometers and an albedo of 0.28.[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a much higher albedo of 0.40, which is typical value for the bright stony surface of Vestian asteroids, and calculates a shorter diameter of 4.2 kilometers.[3]