| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Oterma |
| Discovery site | Turku Obs. |
| Discovery date | 18 November 1938 |
| Designations | |
| (1522) Kokkola | |
Named after | Kokkola(Finnish town)[2] |
| 1938 WO · 1949 WB | |
| main-belt · Vestoid[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 77.72 yr (28,389 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.5398AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1955 AU |
| 2.3677 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0727 |
| 3.64yr (1,331 days) | |
| 196.45° | |
| 0° 16m 13.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.3522° |
| 60.617° | |
| 30.542° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 8.65±0.57 km[4] 9.422±0.094 km[5] 9.57 km(derived)[3] 9.781±0.080 km[6] |
| 5.83h[7] | |
| 0.1924±0.0374[6] 0.20(assumed)[3] 0.206±0.011[5] 0.252±0.025[4] | |
| LS[8] · S[3] B–V = 0.880[1] U–B = 0.510[1] | |
| 12.30±0.35[8] · 12.43[1][4] · 12.46[3][6][7] | |
1522 Kokkola (provisional designation1938 WO) is a stony Vestianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 9.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 November 1938, by pioneering Finnish astronomerLiisi Oterma atTurku Observatory in Southwest Finland.[9] It was later named for the town ofKokkola.[2]
TheS-type asteroid and member of theVesta family is also classified as LS-type, an intermediate to theL-types.[8] It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,331 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.07 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1] Due to aprecovery taken at Turku, Kokkola'sobservation arc was extended by 3 weeks prior to its official discovery observation.[9]
In May 1984, American astronomerRichard Binzel obtained a rotationallightcurve of Kokkola from photometric observations. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 5.83 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.29magnitude (U=3).[7]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Kokkola measures 9.42 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.206 (revised albedo fits from 2014).[5][6][4] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 9.57 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 12.46.[3]
Thisminor planet was named forKokkola, a Finnish town and port on the Gulf of Bothnia.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3929).[10]
