| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Y. Väisälä |
| Discovery site | Turku Observatory |
| Discovery date | 12 February 1939 |
| Designations | |
| (1541) Estonia | |
Named after | Estonia[2] (Baltic country) |
| 1939 CK · 1930 FE 1930 FV · 1950 RG1 1950 SR · 1959 RF1 A916 GE · A923 VE | |
| main-belt · (middle) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 93.57 yr (34,176 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9610AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5761 AU |
| 2.7685 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0695 |
| 4.61yr (1,683 days) | |
| 346.22° | |
| 0° 12m 50.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.8750° |
| 1.4553° | |
| 192.84° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 19.53±0.40 km[3] 20.15 km(derived)[4] 20.56±6.71 km[5] 22.000±0.342 km[6] 23.89±1.35 km[7] 24.542±0.096 km[8] |
| 10.1±1.0h[9] | |
| 0.0976±0.0129[8] 0.104±0.012[7] 0.12±0.13[5] 0.1314(derived)[4] 0.140±0.016[3] | |
| SMASS = Xc[1] · X[4] | |
| 11.20[7][8] · 11.30[4][3][5] · 11.4[1] · 11.56±0.24[10] | |
1541 Estonia (provisional designation1939 CK) is anasteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 21 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 12 February 1939, by astronomerYrjö Väisälä at theIso-Heikkilä Observatory near Turku, Finland.[11] The asteroid was named after the Baltic country ofEstonia.[2]
Estonia is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population. It orbits the Sun in thecentral main belt at a distance of 2.6–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,683 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.07 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified asA916 GE at theSimeiz Observatory in April 1916. The body'sobservation arc begins with its identification asA923 VE atYerkes Observatory in November 1923, more than 15 years prior to its official discovery observation at Turku.[11]
In theSMASS classification, Estonia is an Xc-subtype asteroid; asteroids of the Xc subtype have characteristics intermediate ofX-type asteroids and carbonaceousC-type asteroids.[1]
In November 2015, a rotationallightcurve of Estonia was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomerRené Roy. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 10.1 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.13magnitude (U=2-).[9]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Estonia measures between 19.53 and 24.542 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.0976 and 0.140.[3][5][6][7][8]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.1314 and a diameter of 20.15 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 11.3.[4]
Thisminor planet was named after the Baltic country ofEstonia, just south of theGulf of Finland and Finland itself. The two countries are inhabited by relatedBalto-Finnic peoples. Estonia regained independence from Soviet rule in 1991.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center in January 1956 (M.P.C. 1350).[12]
