Discovered by H. Alikoski Alternative names 1938 UP Discovered 21 October 1938 Discoverer Heikki A. Alikoski Discovery site Iso-Heikkilä Observatory MPC designation 1508 | Discovery date 21 October 1938 Observation arc 80.38 yr (29360 days) Orbits Sun Named after Kemi Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Aphelion 3.9274277 AU (587.53482 Gm) Perihelion 1.6164689 AU (241.82031 Gm) | ||
1508 Kemi (1938 UP) is a large Mars-crossing asteroid discovered on October 21, 1938, by H. Alikoski at Turku, and independently discovered on October 30, 1938, by György Kulin at Budapest. At roughly 17 km in diameter, it is one of the largest Mars-crossing asteroids. It has been grouped with the Pallas family because of its high inclination, similar to other objects in that family, but has different spectral characteristics than many Pallas asteroids. It is classified as a BCF-type asteroid.
It is named after the town of Kemi, in Finland, and the Kemi River, the largest river in Finland, on which the town lies, in keeping with a pattern of giving high-inclination asteroids four-letter names.
Additional reading
References
1508 Kemi Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA