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3212 Agricola, provisional designation 1938 DH₂, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 km (3.1 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland, on 19 February 1938, and named after reformer Mikael Agricola.

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 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,238 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.

Physical characteristics

A rotational lightcurve obtained from photometric observations by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec in May 2006, rendered a period of 9 hours with a brightness variation of 0.07 in magnitude (U=n/a). According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 4.4 km (2.7 miles) in diameter, and its surface has a high albedo of 0.39, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an intermediate albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a larger diameter of 5.4 km (3.4 miles).

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Finnish clergyman Mikael Agricola (c. 1510–1557), bishop and reformer of Finland, often called "father of Finnish literature". He published his Abckiria, the first book printed in the Finnish language, and translated the New Testament into Finnish. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 27 June 1991 (M.P.C. 18450).

Notes

1. ^ Pravec (2006) web: rotation period 9 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.07 mag. Summary figures for (3212) Agricola at www.asu.cas.cz/~ppravec/neo.htm Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (2006) and Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL)

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3212 Agricola (1938 DH2)" (2016-07-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
2. "Agricola". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
3. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3212) Agricola". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3212) Agricola. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 267. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3213. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
4. ^ "LCDB Data for (3212) Agricola". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 2 May 2016.
5. ^ 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 2 May 2016.
6. ^ 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 5 December 2016.
7. 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 2 May 2016.
8. "3212 Agricola (1938 DH2)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 May 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
• 3212 Agricola at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 3212 Agricola 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
• Mikael Agricola