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1859 Kovalevskaya
Discovery
Discovered by	L. V. Zhuravleva
Discovery site	Crimean Astrophysical Obs.
Discovery date	4 September 1972
Designations
MPC designation	(1859) Kovalevskaya
Named after	Sofia Kovalevskaya; (Russian mathematician)
Alternative designations	1972 RS2 · 1932 RD; 1941 BQ · 1942 HH; 1949 PU · 1949 QW; 1950 TM4 · 1953 EK1; 1966 PC1 · A915 TK
Minor planet category	main-belt · (outer)
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	101.37 yr (37,027 days)
Aphelion	3.5272 AU
Perihelion	2.8909 AU
Semi-major axis	3.2091 AU
Eccentricity	0.0991
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.75 yr (2,100 days)
Mean anomaly	38.805°
Mean motion	0° 10m 17.04s / day
Inclination	7.7011°
Longitude of ascending node	343.30°
Argument of perihelion	244.92°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	34.40 km (calculated); 44.634±0.097; 46.02±1.6 km (IRAS:14); 48.798±0.424 km
Synodic rotation period	11.1084±0.0066 h
Geometric albedo	0.0427±0.0077; 0.053±0.006; 0.057 (assumed); 0.0694±0.005 (IRAS:14)
Spectral type	C
Absolute magnitude (H)	10.6 · 10.7 · 11.05 · 11.1084±0.0066 (R)

1859 Kovalevskaya, provisional designation 1972 RS₂, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 40 kilometers in diameter.

It was discovered on 4 September 1972, by Russian–Ukrainian astronomer Lyudmila Zhuravleva at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula.^[8] The asteroid was named after Russian mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya.^[2]

Orbit and classification

Kovalevskaya orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.9–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,100 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

It was first identified as A915 TK at Heidelberg Observatory in 1915, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 57 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nauchnyj.^[8]

Physical characteristics

Kovalevskaya has been characterized as a dark C-type asteroid.^[3]

Lightcurves

In September 2013, photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory, California, gave a rotational lightcurve with a period of 11.1084±0.0066 hours and a brightness variation of 0.13 in magnitude (U=2).^[7]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Kovalevskaya measures between 44.6 and 48.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has a low albedo between 0.043 and 0.069.^[4]^[5]^[6]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a smaller diameter of 34.4 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.05.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after the first major Russian mathematician, Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891), who has made important contributions to partial differential equations and rigid body motion (also see Kovalevskaya top). The lunar crater Kovalevskaya is also named after her.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 June 1975 (M.P.C. 3826).^[9]

From 1972 to 1992, the discoverer of this asteroid, Lyudmila Zhuravleva, has made more than 200 minor planets discoveries, and ranks 61st on the Minor Planet Center discoverer chart.^[10]