Discovered by Johann Palisa Minor planet category Main belt Aphelion 2.9986 AU (448.58 Gm) Orbits Sun Discoverer Johann Palisa Discovery site Vienna Observatory | Discovery date 31 January 1883 Observation arc 102.35 yr (37382 d) Discovered 31 January 1883 Spectral type C-type asteroid Named after Russia | |
Alternative names A921 UA, 1929 QA,
1954 SV, 1970 SN1 Similar 265 Anna, 220 Stephania, 208 Lacrimosa, 218 Bianca, 142 Polana | ||
232 Russia is a large Main belt asteroid. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of primitive carbonaceous material. It was discovered by Johann Palisa on January 31, 1883 in Vienna and was named after the country of Russia.
Photometric observations of this asteroid collected during 2007 show a rotation period of 21.8 ± 0.2 hours with a brightness variation of 0.2 ± 0.02 magnitude. A follow up study during 2014 discovered that the rotation period varied depending on the phase angle of observation. The measured rotation varied from 22.016 ± 0.004 hours at a phase angle of 21.5 degrees to 17.0, to 21.904 ± 0.002 hours at phase angles between 5.2 degrees and 9.6 degrees. The reason for this variation has to do with the shape of the asteroid.