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2678 Aavasaksa, provisional designation 1938 DF₁, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter.

The asteroid was discovered on 24 February 1938, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland. It was named for the Aavasaksa hill in Finland.

Orbit and classification

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 in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,240 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.

Aavasaksa was first identified as A916 WA at Bergedorf Observatory in 1916. Its observation arc begins at Mount Wilson Observatory in 1935, or 3 years prior to its official discovery observation at Turku.

Physical characteristics

In January 2009, a provisional and fragmentary photometric lightcurve of Aavasaksa was obtained at the Via Capote Observatory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave it a longer than average rotation period of 24 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.4 in magnitude (U=1).

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Aavasaksa measures 8.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.28, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24, derived from 8 Flora, the Flora family's largest member and namesake, and calculates a diameter of 8.2 kilometers.

Naming

This 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. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 May 1983 (M.P.C. 7947).

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2678 Aavasaksa (1938 DF1)" (2017-05-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2678) Aavasaksa". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2678) Aavasaksa. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 219. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2679. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "LCDB Data for (2678) Aavasaksa". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 26 April 2016.
4. ^ 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. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
5. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
6. ^ Brinsfield, James W. (July 2009). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Via Capote Observatory: 2009 1st Quarter". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 36 (3): 127–128. Bibcode:2009MPBu...36..127B. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
7. ^ "2678 Aavasaksa (1938 DF1)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
8. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 2678 Aavasaksa at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2678 Aavasaksa at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Flora asteroids
• Discoveries by Yrjö Väisälä
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1938