Discovered by G. Kulin MPC designation 1441 Bolyai Minor planet category main-belt · (middle) Absolute magnitude 13.1 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 26 November 1937 Alternative names 1937 WA Discovered 26 November 1937 Orbits Sun | |
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1441 Bolyai, provisional designation 1937 WA, is a dark asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 November 1937, by Hungarian astronomer György Kulin at Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary.
Bolyai orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,560 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic. Bolyai's observation arc begins the night following its official discovery observation in 1937, as no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Bolyai measures between 12.31 and 14.76 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.047 and 0.05. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0426 and a diameter of 14.75 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 13.2. As of 2017, no rotational light-curve of Bolyai has been obtained. Its rotation period, composition and shape remain unknown.
This minor planet was named after the Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai (1802–1860), a co-founder of non-Euclidean geometry in the early 19th century. Naming citation was first mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 130) and a clarification of the naming is given in a paper published in Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage in 2012.