Discovered by G. Neujmin MPC designation 1590 Tsiolkovskaja Discovered 1 July 1933 | Discovery date 1 July 1933 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Alternative names 1933 NA · 1933 OU1936 HB · 1937 VE1940 RN · 1940 RX1943 OD · 1950 SFA907 TB · A913 MC Similar Sun, 8 Flora, 951 Gaspra, 824 Anastasia, 847 Agnia | ||
1590 Tsiolkovskaja, provisional designation 1933 NA, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 July 1933, by Soviet–Russian astronomer Grigory Neujmin at Simeiz Observatory, on the Crimean peninsula.
Tsiolkovskaja is a member of the Flora family, a large group of stony S-type asteroids in the inner main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,217 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic. Tsiolkovskaja was first observed at Heidelberg Observatory in 1907, extending the body's observation arc by 26 years prior to its discovery observation.
Several rotational light-curves were obtained from photometric observations. They gave a concurring, well-defined rotation period between 6.700 and 6.737 hours with a brightness variation of 0.10–0.40 in magnitude. Tsiolkovskaja has a relatively high albedo in the range of 0.21 to 0.42, according to the surveys carried out by IRAS, Akari, and WISE/NEOWISE, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives a moderate albedo of 0.23.
The minor planet was named in honor of Soviet–Russian rocket scientists, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935), considered to be one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics and instrumental to the success of the Soviet space program. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 2116). The lunar crater Tsiolkovskiy is also named after him.