It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 1.9–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,520 days; semi-major axis of 2.59 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The asteroid was first observed at the Lowell Observatory in April 1907. The body's observation arc begins at the Tokyo Observatory (389) in November 1930, almost 4 years prior to its official discovery observation at Simeiz–Crimea.[1]
This minor planet was named in honor of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina "Chaika" Tereshkova (born 1937). Tereshkova received the call sign "Chaika" – the Russian word for seagull – as she was the first woman to fly in space.[2] The asteroid's name was proposed by the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (ITA) in St Petersburg. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 June 1967 (M.P.C. 2740).[13]
In November 2005, a rotational lightcurveofChaika was obtained from photometric observations by Italian astronomers Roberto Crippa, Federico Manzini and Josep Coloma. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation periodof3.7718±0.0002 hours with a brightness variation of 0.18 magnitude (U=3).[10] John Menke in collaboration with Walter Cooney and David Higgins determined a concurring period of 3.774±0.003 hours with an amplitude of 0.20 magnitude (U=3).[14]
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Chaika measures between 7.5 and 13.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.12 and 0.29.[6][7][8][9] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 11.30 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.1.[11]
^ abcdMainzer, A. K.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; Kramer, E. A.; Masiero, J. R.; et al. (June 2016). "NEOWISE Diameters and Albedos V1.0". NASA Planetary Data System: EAR-A-COMPIL-5-NEOWISEDIAM-V1.0. Bibcode:2016PDSS..247.....M. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
^ abcdMasiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8.
^ abcdHasegawa, Sunao; Müller, Thomas G.; Kuroda, Daisuke; Takita, Satoshi; Usui, Fumihiko (April 2013). "The Asteroid Catalog Using AKARI IRC Slow-Scan Observations". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 65 (2): 11. arXiv:1210.7557. Bibcode:2013PASJ...65...34H. doi:10.1093/pasj/65.2.34.
