Discovered by L. Oterma Alternative names 1938 WO · 1949 WB Discovered 18 November 1938 Orbits Sun Discovery site Iso-Heikkilä Observatory | Discovery date 18 November 1938 Minor planet category main-belt · Vestoid Absolute magnitude 12.43 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
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1522 Kokkola, provisional designation 1938 WO, is a stony Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 9.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 November 1938, by pioneering Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland.
The S-type asteroid and member of the Vesta family is also classified as LS-type, an intermediate to the L-types. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,331 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. Due to a precovery taken at Turku, Kokkola's observation arc was extended by 3 weeks prior to its official discovery observation.
In May 1984, American astronomer Richard P. Binzel obtained a rotational light-curve of Kokkola from photometric observations. Light-curve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 5.83 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.29 magnitude (U=3).
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kokkola measures 9.42 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.206 (revised albedo fits from 2014). The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 9.57 kilometers using an absolute magnitude of 12.46.
This minor planet was named for Kokkola, a Finnish town and port on the Gulf of Bothnia. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 3929).