1523 Pieksämäki, provisional designation 1939 BC, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 January 1939, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at the Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland, and named for the town of Pieksämäki.[2][12]

1523 Pieksämäki
Discovery[1]
Discovered byY. Väisälä
Discovery siteTurku Obs.
Discovery date18 January 1939
Designations
(1523) Pieksamaki
Named after
Pieksämäki (Finnish town)[2]
1939 BC · 1936 FO1
1936 HC · 1946 GB
1949 AC
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc80.20 yr (29,294 days)
Aphelion2.4509 AU
Perihelion2.0327 AU
2.2418 AU
Eccentricity0.0933
3.36 yr (1,226 days)
131.04°
Inclination5.1411°
327.79°
187.58°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions8.98 km (calculated)[3]
9.111±0.313 km[4]
10.008±0.057 km[5]
5.3202±0.0005 h[6][7]
5.3210±0.0001 h[8]
5.33 h[9]
0.2135±0.0277[5]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
0.281±0.041[10]
0.505±0.294[4]
S[3]
11.56[4] · 12.3[5] · 12.4[1][3] · 12.58±0.53[11]

Orbit and classification

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This 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 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,226 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] In 1936, it was first identified as 1936 FO1 at Nice Observatory, extending Pieksämäki's observation arc by 3 years prior to its official discovery observation at Turku.[12]

Physical characteristics

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Lightcurves

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In December 2005, American amateur astronomer Donald P. Pray obtained a rotational lightcurve at Carbuncle Hill Observatory in collaboration with other astronomers. Light-curve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 5.3202 hours with a brightness variation of 0.47 magnitude (U=3).[6]

Previous photometric observations were made by Kryszczyńska et al. in July 2004, that gave an identical period with an amplitude of 0.40 magnitude (U=2+),[7] and by Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist, who derived a period of 5.33 hours (Δ0.5 mag) already in the 1970s (U=2).[9] In March 2013, another well-defined period of 5.3210 hours (Δ0.42 mag) was obtained by French amateur astronomer René Roy.[8]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Pieksämäki measures 9.111 and 10.008 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.213 and 0.505.[4][5][10] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the family's principal body and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 8.98 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.4.[3]

Naming

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This minor planet was named for Pieksämäki, an eastern Finnish town in Southern Savonia.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3929).[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1523 Pieksamaki (1939 BC)" (2016-06-02 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1523) Pieksämäki". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1523) Pieksämäki. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 121. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1524. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (1523) Pieksämäki". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d 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. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
  6. ^ a b Pray, Donald P.; Galad, Adrian; Gajdos, Stefan; Vilagi, Jozef; Cooney, Walt; Gross, John; et al. (December 2006). "Lightcurve analysis of asteroids 53, 698, 1016, 1523, 1950, 4608, 5080 6170, 7760, 8213, 11271, 14257, 15350 and 17509". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 33 (4): 92–95. Bibcode:2006MPBu...33...92P. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b Kryszczynska, A.; Colas, F.; Polinska, M.; Hirsch, R.; Ivanova, V.; Apostolovska, G.; et al. (October 2012). "Do Slivan states exist in the Flora family?. I. Photometric survey of the Flora region". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 546: 51. Bibcode:2012A&A...546A..72K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219199. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  8. ^ a b Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1523) Pieksämäki". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  9. ^ a b Lagerkvist, C. I. (April 1979). "A lightcurve survey of asteroids with Schmidt telescopes - Observations of nine asteroids during oppositions in 1977". Icarus. 38 (1): 106–114. Bibcode:1979Icar...38..106L. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(79)90090-3. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  11. ^ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  12. ^ a b "1523 Pieksamaki (1939 BC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  13. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.
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