Discovered by T. Smirnova MPC designation 1900 Katyusha Discovered 16 December 1971 | Discovery date 16 December 1971 Observation arc 62.09 yr (22678 days) Orbits Sun | |
Alternative names 1971 YB · 1938 WM1941 SS1 · 1950 LS1953 GL1 · 1961 WD1969 DC Similar Solar System, Asteroid belt, Sun, 8 Flora | ||
1900 Katyusha, provisional designation 1971 YB, is a small but bright stony asteroid of the inner main-belt. It was discovered on December 16, 1971, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj and measures about 9 kilometers in diameter. Its albedo of 0.29 has been determined by spectrophotometric observations made by NEOWISE in 2010–2011.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,200 days) and rotates around its axis with a period of nine and a half hours (7000949990000000000♠9.4999±0.0001 h, 6999720000000000000♠0.72±0.02 mag). It is an assumed S-type asteroid belonging to the Flora family.
Named in honor of Ukrainian Ekaterina Ivanovna Zelenko (1916–1941), a war pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union, known for being the only woman who had ever executed an aerial ramming. The asteroid's name "Katyusha" is a petname for Ekaterina.