Direction of spin of Koronis family member (1289) Kutaïssi

Abstract

Observations of lightcurve of Koronis family member asteroid (1289) Kutaïssi were taken in January, 2003, at MIT's Wallace Astrophysical Observatory. The goal of these observations included obtaining a precise rotation period and direction of rotation for the asteroid extracted from data obtained in two different filters. By combining the new data with data from previous epochs, a rotation rate and direction of spin were found; results give a period of 3.62424 ± 0.00001 hrs and the asteroid was found to be spinning retrograde to its orbital motion. The results obtained from this project will be useful in the future for determining a shape and pole solution for (1289) Kutaïssi.