Discovered by L. Oterma MPC designation 2159 Kukkamaki Observation arc 87.10 yr (31,814 days) Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 16 October 1941 Minor planet category main-belt · (inner) Discovered 16 October 1941 Discovery site Iso-Heikkilä Observatory | |
Alternative names 1941 UX · 1929 TL1933 UU1 · 1935 EL1939 FS · 1949 WM1951 GG1 · 1970 EB1974 CD1 · 1978 EB Similar 2058 Róka, Sun, Asteroid belt | ||
2159 Kukkamäki, provisional designation 1941 UX, is a stony asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 October 1941, by Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland.
Kukkamäki is a stony S-type asteroid. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 11 months (1,428 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. Kukkamäki was first identified as 1929 TL at Lowell Observatory in 1929, extending the body's observation arc by 12 prior to its official discovery observation.
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Kukkamäki measures between 9.86 and 12.14 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.193 and 0.337, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 11.30 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.1.
During an asteroid survey conducted at McDonald Observatory and CTIO in the 1980s, a rotational light-curve of Kukkamäki was obtained by astronomer Richard Binzel. The photoelectry observation gave a well-defined rotation period of 4.06 hours with a brightness variation of 0.32 magnitude (U=3), superseding a previous result based on a fragmentary light-curve.
This minor planet was named after Finnish geodesist Tauno Kukkamäki (1909–1997), who was the director of the Finnish Geodetic Institute for many years and the president of the International Association of Geodesy. He was also a distinguished disciple of Yrjö Väisälä. Naming citation was published on 1 November 1979 (M.P.C. 5014).