| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Y. Väisälä |
| Discovery site | Turku Obs. |
| Discovery date | 18 October 1939 |
| Designations | |
| (1740) Paavo Nurmi | |
Named after | Paavo Nurmi (Sports Legend)[2] |
| 1939 UA · 1933 DD 1951 YO2 · 1954 NC 1966 TA | |
| main-belt · (inner) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 77.13 yr (28,172 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9385AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9947 AU |
| 2.4666 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1913 |
| 3.87yr (1,415 days) | |
| 43.639° | |
| 0° 15m 15.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.9994° |
| 296.10° | |
| 78.724° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 12.762±0.150 km[3] |
| 0.046±0.006[3] | |
| Tholen =F[1] B–V = 0.613[1] U–B = 0.194[1] | |
| 13.24[1] | |
1740 Paavo Nurmi, provisional designation1939 UA, is rare-typeasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 13 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 18 October 1939, by Finnish astronomerYrjö Väisälä atTurku Observatory in Southwest Finland.[4] It was named after Finnish distance runnerPaavo Nurmi.[2]
Paavo Nurmi orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,415 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.19 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as1933 DD atHeidelberg Observatory in 1933. This observation, however, remained unused and the body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Turku in 1939.[4]
On theTholen taxonomic scheme,Paavo Nurmi has been characterized as a rareF-type asteroid,[1] a subtype of thecarbonaceous asteroids, which are common in the outer, but not in the inner main-belt.
Paavo Nurmi has an absolutemagnitude of 13.24.[1] According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 12.76 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo of 0.046.[3] As of 2017, itsrotation period and shape remain unknown.[1]
Thisminor planet was named for famed Turku-born Finnish distance runnerPaavo Nurmi, also known asThe Flying Finn, who won nine Olympic gold medals and set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 metres and 20 kilometres.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 April 1980 (M.P.C. 5281).[5]
