| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | G. Kulin |
| Discovery site | Konkoly Obs. |
| Discovery date | 26 November 1937 |
| Designations | |
| (1441) Bolyai | |
Named after | János Bolyai (Hungarian mathematician)[2] |
| 1937 WA | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 79.57 yr (29,064 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2591AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0031 AU |
| 2.6311 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2387 |
| 4.27yr (1,559 days) | |
| 287.12° | |
| 0° 13m 51.24s / day | |
| Inclination | 13.918° |
| 254.02° | |
| 116.01° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 12.31±3.67 km[4] 13.50±3.27 km[5] 14.65±6.43 km[6] 14.75 km(derived)[3] 14.76±1.4 km(IRAS:2)[7] |
| 0.0426(derived)[3] 0.0467±0.011(IRAS:2)[7] 0.047±0.101[6] 0.05±0.03[5] 0.05±0.07[4] | |
| (S)/C(assumed)[3] | |
| 13.1[5][6][7] · 13.2[1][3] · 13.35[4] | |
1441 Bolyai, provisional designation1937 WA, is a darkasteroid from the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 November 1937, by Hungarian astronomerGyörgy Kulin atKonkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary.[8] The asteroid was named after Hungarian mathematicianJános Bolyai.[2]
Bolyai orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.0–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,559 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.24 and aninclination of 14° with respect to theecliptic.[1]Bolyai'sobservation arc begins the night following its official discovery observation in 1937, as noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.[8]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Bolyai measures between 12.31 and 14.76 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.047 and 0.05.[4][5][6][7]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) derives an albedo of 0.0426 and a diameter of 14.75 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.2.[3] For asteroids with asemi-major axis between 2.6 and 2.7 AU, the probability of an asteroid being either of astony (albedo of 0.20) or of acarbonaceous (albedo of 0.057) composition is considered equally likely by CALL (which then uses an albedo of 0.10 as a compromise value between the two main types). In the case ofBolyai, however, the space-based albedo measurements suggest that it is most likely of a carbonaceous composition.
As of 2017, no rotationallightcurve ofBolyai has been obtained. Itsrotation period, composition and shape remain unknown.
Thisminor planet was named after the Hungarian mathematicianJános Bolyai (1802–1860), a co-founder ofnon-Euclidean geometry in the early 19th century.[2] Naming citation was first mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 130)[2] and a clarification of the naming is given in a paper published in Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage in 2012.[9]
