1102 Pepita, provisional designation , is a stony background
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
from the outer regions of the
asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...
, approximately 39 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 5 November 1928, by Catalan astronomer
Josep Comas i Solà
Josep Comas i Solà (; Barcelona 17 December 1868 – 2 December 1937) was a Spanish ( Catalan) astronomer, discoverer of minor planets, comets, and double stars.
He wrote his first astronomy notes at the age of ten, and was only fifteen when ...
at the
Fabra Observatory
The Fabra Observatory (, ; obs. code: 006) is an astronomical observatory located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain pointed towards the south at 415 metres above sea level (latitude: 41,4184° N; longitude: 2,1239° E).
It was established in 1904 ...
in Barcelona, Spain. It was named after the discoverer by the feminine form of his nickname. The asteroid has a
rotation period
In astronomy, the rotation period or spin period of a celestial object (e.g., star, planet, moon, asteroid) has two definitions. The first one corresponds to the '' sidereal rotation period'' (or ''sidereal day''), i.e., the time that the objec ...
of 5.1 hours.
Orbit and classification
''Pepita'' is a non-
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...