Discovered by T. Smirnova MPC designation 2072 Kosmodemyanskaya Discovered 31 August 1973 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 31 August 1973 Minor planet category main-belt · (inner) Absolute magnitude 12.61 | |
Alternative names 1973 QE2 · 1944 BD1958 XY · 1962 XL11975 EL People also search for 2071 Nadezhda, 2009 Voloshina, 2032 Ethel, 1793 Zoya, Sun | ||
2072 Kosmodemyanskaya, provisional designation 1973 QE2, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 31 August 1973, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula.
The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.1–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,401 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. It has a rotation period of 4.4 hours and an albedo of probably 0.2, even though preliminary results from the NEOWISE mission gave an exceptionally high value of 6999680500000000000♠0.6805±0.1904.
It was named in memory of social worker Lyubov Kosmodemyanskaya (1900–1978), mother of Soviet heroes Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya and Aleksandr Kosmodemyansky. The minor planets 1793 Zoya and 1977 Shura, pet name for Aleksandr, were named after the two. Naming citation was published on 1 April 1980 (M.P.C. 5282).