Discovered by Y. Väisälä MPC designation 3212 Agricola Minor planet category main-belt · Flora Discovered 19 February 1938 Discoverer Yrjö Väisälä Discovery site Iso-Heikkilä Observatory | Discovery date 19 February 1938 Alternative names 1938 DH2 · 1982 BB2 Observation arc 78.29 yr (28,596 days) Orbits Sun Asteroid family Flora family Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Named after Mikael Agricola (reformer) | ||
3212 Agricola, provisional designation 1938 DH2, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland, on 19 February 1938.
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 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,238 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.
A rotational light-curve obtained from photometric observations by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec in May 2006, rendered a period of 9 hours with a brightness variation of 0.07 in magnitude (U=n/a). According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 4.4 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has a high albedo of 0.39, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an intermediate albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a larger diameter of 5.4 kilometers.
The minor planet was named in honor of Finnish clergyman Mikael Agricola (c. 1510–1557), bishop and reformer of Finland, often called "father of Finnish literature". He published his Abckiria, the first book printed in the Finnish language, and translated the New Testament into Finnish. Naming citation was published on 27 June 1991 (M.P.C. 18450).