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2678 Aavasaksa

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2678 Aavasaksa
Discovery [1]
Discovered byY. Väisälä
Discovery siteTurku Observatory
Discovery date24 February 1938
Designations
2678 Aavasaksa
Named after
Aavasaksa
(hill in Finnish Lapland)[2]
1938 DF1 · 1952 KM
1955 DH · 1977 SX1
1979 FP2 · A916 WA
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc77.82 yr (28,425 days)
Aphelion2.4537 AU
Perihelion2.0652 AU
2.2594 AU
Eccentricity0.0859
3.40 yr (1,241 days)
331.75°
Inclination3.4440°
54.053°
46.058°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions8.371±0.096 km[4]
8.19 km (calculated)[3]
24 h[5]
0.2764±0.0367[4]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
S[3]
12.6[1]

2678 Aavasaksa, provisional designation 1938 DF1, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland, on 24 February 1938.[6]

The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.1–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,241 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 3 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic.[1]

In 2009, a provisional photometric light-curve analysis at the U.S. Via Capote Observatory in California gave it a somewhat longer than average rotation period of 24 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.4 in magnitude.[5] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid's surface has an albedo of 0.28, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a more moderate value of 0.24, which is also identical to the albedo of the Flora family's namesake, 8 Flora.[3][4]

The minor planet is named after Aavasaksa, a sharp-edged hill in Finnish Lapland, just south of the Arctic Circle. The hill is located in the Tornio River Valley, after which the minor planet 1471 Tornio is named, and is often considered the southernmost point in Finland, where the natural phenomenon of the midnight sun is visible each June.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2678 Aavasaksa (1938 DF1)" (2015-12-20 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved January 2016. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2678) Aavasaksa. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 219. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved January 2016. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e "LCDB Data for (2678) Aavasaksa". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved January 2016. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved January 2016. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. ^ a b Brinsfield, James W. (July 2009). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Via Capote Observatory: 2009 1st Quarter". Bulletin of the Minor Planets. 36 (3). Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers: 127–128. Bibcode:2009MPBu...36..127B. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved January 2016. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ^ "2678 Aavasaksa (1938 DF1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved January 2016. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)