1540 Kevola, provisional designation , is a dark
background asteroid from the outer regions of the
asteroid belt, approximately 42 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 November 1938, by astronomer
Liisi Oterma
Liisi Oterma (; 6 January 1915 – 4 April 2001) was a Finnish astronomer, the first woman to get a Ph.D. degree in astronomy in Finland.
She studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Turku, and soon became Yrjö Väisälà ...
at the
Iso-Heikkilä Observatory in Turku, Finland.
The asteroid was named after the Finnish
Kevola Observatory.
Orbit and classification
''Kevola'' is a non-
family asteroid of the main belt's
background population.
It orbits the Sun in the
outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.6–3.1
AU once every 4 years and 10 months (1,758 days). Its orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.09 and an
inclination of 12
° with respect to the
ecliptic.
The body's
observation arc begins with its first identification as at
Heidelberg Observatory in April 1926, more than 12 years prior to its official discovery observation at Turku.
Naming
This
minor planet was named for the Finnish
Kevola Observatory .
The official was published by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
on 20 February 1976 ().
Physical characteristics
''Kevola'' is an assumed carbonaceous
C-type asteroid.
Rotation period
In February 2007, a rotational
lightcurve of ''Kevola'' was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomer
Pierre Antonini. Lightcurve analysis gave a
rotation period
The rotation period of a celestial object (e.g., star, gas giant, planet, moon, asteroid) may refer to its sidereal rotation period, i.e. the time that the object takes to complete a single revolution around its axis of rotation relative to the ...
of 20.082 hours with a brightness variation of 0.23
magnitude ().
Another lightcurve obtained by astronomers at the
Palomar Transient Factory
The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF, obs. code: I41), was an astronomical survey using a wide-field survey camera designed to search for optical transient and variable sources such as variable stars, supernovae, asteroids and comets. The projec ...
in October 2010, gave a concurring period of 20.071 hours with an amplitude of 0.33 magnitude ().
Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite
IRAS, the Japanese
Akari satellite and the
NEOWISE mission of NASA's
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, ''Kevola'' measures between 37.12 and 44.18 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an
albedo between 0.0433 and 0.06.
The ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' derives an albedo of 0.0474 and a diameter of 44.22 kilometers based on an
absolute magnitude of 10.7.
References
External links
Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB) query form
)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names Google books
– Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
– Minor Planet Center
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kevola
001540
Discoveries by Liisi Oterma
Named minor planets
19381116