12848 Agostino


12848 Agostino, provisional designation, is a stony Eunomia asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered on 10 July 1997, by Italian astronomer Andrea Boattini at the Campo Imperatore Observatory in the Gran Sasso massif of central Italy. It was named after the father of the discoverer, Agostino Boattini.

Orbit and classification

Agostino is a member of the Eunomia family, a large group of stony S-type asteroids and the most prominent family in the intermediate main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 2 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic.
The body's observation arc begins 47 years prior to its official discovery observation with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in June 1950.

Physical characteristics

Two rotational lightcurves of Agostino were obtained in the R-band from photometric observations by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in August 2010, and February 2012, respectively. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of and hours with a respective brightness variation of 0.51 and 0.84 in magnitude.
According to the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Agostino measures 4.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.23. 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 4.6 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.02.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Agostino Boattini, the father of the discoverer. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 9 May 2001.