12482 Pajka

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12482 Pajka (1997 FG1) is a small background asteroid in the inner region of the asteroid belt, roughly 4.3 kilometers across. It was discovered on 23 March 1997 by Slovak astronomers Adrián Galád and Alexander Pravda at Modra Observatory. The asteroid was named Pajka after Paula Pravdová, the daughter of one of the discoverers.

Orbit and classification
Pajka is not part of any asteroid family; it belongs to the background population of the main belt. It orbits the Sun every about 3.76 years (1,372 days) at a distance of roughly 2.0 to 2.8 astronomical units. Its orbit has an eccentricity of about 0.161 and an inclination of about 8.6 degrees to the plane of the solar system. A precovery image from Steward Observatory (Kitt Peak) in October 1991 extends its observation arc to about 24.8 years.

Physical characteristics
The asteroid’s diameter is estimated at about 4.3 kilometers. A photometric study in January 2008 produced a rotation period of 3.9428 hours with a brightness variation of 0.21 magnitudes, indicating a somewhat elongated shape. Its absolute magnitude (H) is around 14.0. The albedo is assumed to be around 0.20, and Pajka is treated as an S-type asteroid for classification purposes.

Naming
The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 March 2002. Pajka is Paula Pravdová, the discoverer’s daughter, whose familiar name inspired the asteroid’s name.