Discovered by T. Smirnova MPC designation 2575 Bulgaria Minor planet category main-belt · Flora Orbits Sun Asteroid family Flora family | Discovery date 4 August 1970 Named after Bulgaria (country) Discovered 4 August 1970 Discoverer Tamara Smirnova Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Alternative names 1970 PL · 1970 QD
1977 RQ6 · 1980 PY
A923 PB Discovery site Crimean Astrophysical Observatory People also search for Sun, 8 Flora, 915 Cosette, 967 Helionape, 3412 Kafka, 428 Monachia | ||
2575 Bulgaria, provisional designation 1970 PL, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 August 1970, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula.
Classified as a Sr-subtype in the SMASS taxonomy, the S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,224 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. It has a rotation period of 8.6 hours and an albedo of 0.24, as assumed by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link.
The minor planet was named after the European country Bulgaria. At the time of naming, it was the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990), a former satellite state of the Soviet Union and member of the Warsaw Pact. Naming citation was published on 13 July 1984 (M.P.C. 8912).