762 Pulcova

762 Pulcova is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Grigoriy N. Neujmin in 1913. It is named after Pulkovo Observatory, near Saint Petersburg. Pulcova has a diameter of 137 km and is a C-type asteroid, meaning it is dark in colour and made of carbonate material.

Photometric observations of this asteroid from Leura, Australia in 2006 produced a light curve with a period of 5.8403 ± 0.0005 hours and a brightness variation of 0.20 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This result matches earlier studies.

Satellite

Astronomers found a small moon orbiting 762 Pulcova in the year 2000. This moon is about 15 kilometers across and orbits Pulcova at a distance of 800 kilometers. It takes 4 days to go around Pulcova and is much dimmer than the asteroid itself. This was one of the first times scientists found a moon orbiting an asteroid.

Density

In the year 2000, someone thought Pulcova had a density of 1.8 g/cm³, making it denser than two other space rocks. However, in 2008, another person suggested the density might be only 0.90 g/cm³, meaning it could be a loosely packed pile of pieces instead of one solid object.