Discovered by L. Boyer MPC designation 1380 Volodia Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 11.8 Discoverer Louis Boyer Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 16 March 1936 Alternative names 1936 FM Discovered 16 March 1936 Orbits Sun Discovery site Algiers Observatory | |
Named after Vladimir Vesselovsky
(newborn on discovery) People also search for 1339 Désagneauxa, Sun, 1606 Jekhovsky | ||
1380 Volodia, provisional designation 1936 FM, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 March 1936, by French astronomer Louis Boyer at the North African Algiers Observatory in Algeria. Five nights later, Volodia was independently discovered by Eugène Delporte at Uccle in Belgium.
This C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.8–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,045 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic. Volodia's observation arc begins with its official discovery at Johannesburg, as no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.
In April 2008, a fragmentary light-curve of Volodia was obtained from photometric observations by astronomer Eric Barbotin. Light-curve analysis gave a tentative rotation period of 8 hours with a change in brightness of 0.15 magnitude (U=1+).
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Volodia measures between 21.76 and 23.27 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.074 and 0.090. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.058 and calculates a diameter of 24.09 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.8.
This minor planet is named for Russian Vladimir Vesselovsky (b. 1936), who was born on the night of the asteroid's discovery. "Volodia" is the diminutive of "Vladimir". In 1955, its naming citation was first published by Paul Herget in The Names of the Minor Planets (H 125).