3037 Alku

3037 Alku
Discovery
Discovered by	Y. Väisälä
Discovery site	Turku Obs.
Discovery date	16 January 1944
Designations
MPC designation	(3037) Alku
Named after	Alku (a boat's name)
Alternative designations	1944 BA · 1979 BH
Minor planet category	main-belt · (middle)
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	72.87 yr (26,615 days)
Aphelion	3.1798 AU
Perihelion	2.1670 AU
Semi-major axis	2.6734 AU
Eccentricity	0.1894
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.37 yr (1,597 days)
Mean anomaly	329.14°
Mean motion	0° 13m 31.8s / day
Inclination	19.022°
Longitude of ascending node	107.80°
Argument of perihelion	330.32°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	18.84 km (derived); 18.91±0.8 km (IRAS:8); 26.44±0.61 km; 29.289±0.302 km; 29.876±0.186
Synodic rotation period	11.844±0.002 h
Geometric albedo	0.0343±0.0090; 0.044±0.008; 0.061±0.003; 0.0949 (derived); 0.1131±0.011 (IRAS:8)
Spectral type	SMASS = C · C
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.6 · 11.8

3037 Alku, provisional designation 1944 BA, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 17 January 1944, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland.