1407 Lindelöf


1407 Lindelöf is an asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 November 1936 by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland. The asteroid was named after Finnish topologist Ernst Lindelöf.

Orbit and classification

Lindelöf orbits the Sun in the central main asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–3.5 AU once every 4 years and 7 months. Its orbit has an orbital eccentricity of 0.28 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. In 1905, it was first identified as at Heidelberg Observatory, extending the body's observation arc by 31 years prior to its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS taxonomy, Lindelöfs spectral class is that of an X-type asteroid, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link considers it to be of a stony composition.

Rotation period and poles

French amateur astronomer Pierre Antonini obtained a rotational lightcurve of Lindelöf from photometric observations in January 2006. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined and longer-than average rotation period of 31.151 hours with a brightness variation of 0.34 in magnitude.
A lightcurve published in 2016 using modeled photometric data from the Lowell Photometric Database gave a concurring period of 31.0941 hours, as well as a spin axis of in ecliptic coordinates.

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, the Japanese AKARI satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Lindelöf measures between in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between and 0.179 and 0.28. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.1791 and a diameter of, with an absolute magnitude of 10.9.

Naming

This minor planet was named for Finnish topologist Ernst Leonard Lindelöf, who was a professor of mathematics at Helsinki University. The Lindelöf spaces are also named after him. The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955.