1590 Tsiolkovskaja, provisional designation1933 NA, is a stony Floraasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 July 1933, by Soviet–Russian astronomerGrigory Neujmin atSimeiz Observatory, on the Crimean peninsula.[14] It was named for rocket scientistKonstantin Tsiolkovsky.[2]
Tsiolkovskaja is a member of theFlora family, a large group of stonyS-type asteroids. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,217 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.16 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[1]Tsiolkovskaja was first observed atHeidelberg Observatory in 1907, extending the body'sobservation arc by 26 years prior to its discovery observation.[14]
Several rotationallightcurves were obtained from photometric observations. They gave a concurring, well-definedrotation period between 6.700 and 6.737 hours with a brightness variation of 0.10–0.40 inmagnitude.[9][10][11][12]Tsiolkovskaja has a relatively highalbedo in the range of 0.21 to 0.42, according to the surveys carried out byIRAS,Akari, andWISE/NEOWISE, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives a moderate albedo of 0.23.[3][4][6][7][8]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of Soviet–Russian rocket scientistKonstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935), considered to be one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics and instrumental to the success of the Soviet space program.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 31 January 1962 (M.P.C. 2116).[15] The lunar craterTsiolkovskiy is also named after him.[2]
^abcdUsui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey".Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan.63 (5):1117–1138.Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U.doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online,AcuA catalog p. 153)
^Schmadel, Lutz D. "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs".Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221.doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4.ISBN978-3-642-01964-7.
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