Discovered by Y. Väisälä MPC designation 2826 Ahti Observation arc 76.44 yr (27,921 days) Orbits Sun Named after Ahti (Finnish mythology) Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 18 October 1939 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Discovered 18 October 1939 Discoverer Yrjö Väisälä Discovery site Iso-Heikkilä Observatory | |
Alternative names 1939 UJ · 1942 FH
1950 TG3 · 1968 UT2
1979 RG · 1980 VK1 People also search for 2678 Aavasaksa, 3212 Agricola | ||
2826 Ahti, provisional designation 1939 UJ, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 37 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 October 1939, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory, Southwest Finland.
The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.1–3.4 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,113 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic.
A photmetric light-curve analysis by French astronomer Pierre Antonini in 2006 rendered a relatively long rotation period of 24 hours (U=1). The result, however, is considered to be only provisional. According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and the U.S. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid's surface has a very low albedo in the range of 0.02 to 0.06. While the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the asteroid's diameter of 36.7 kilometer found by IRAS, data from the Akari and WISE/NEOWISE mission give a larger diameter between 40 and 55 kilometers.
The minor planet was named for the god of the sea and of fishing, Ahti (also known as Ahto), mentioned in the Kalevala, a 19th-century work of epic poetry from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. The minor planet 1454 Kalevala is named after the Finish national epic. Ahti is also a common boy's name in Finland. Naming citation was published on 26 May 1983 (M.P.C. 7949).