Gaussia (minor planet designation: 1001 Gaussia), provisional designation , is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 73 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1923, by Soviet astronomer Sergey Belyavsky at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The asteroid was named after German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. Gauss computed the orbit of Ceres, and 1001 Gaussia was named along with 1000 Piazzia, and 1002 Olbersia in part for their work on Ceres, with names for Giuseppe Piazzi, who found Ceres, and Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, who recovered it later that year. Orbit and classification Gaussia is a background asteroid that does not belong to any known asteroid family. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,100 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid was first identified as at Taunton Observatory () in December 1907. The body's observation arc begins at UNSO in January 1908, more than 15 years prior to its official discovery observation at Simeiz. Physical characteristics In the Tholen classification, Gaussia has an ambiguous spectral type. Its type is closest to the primitive P-type asteroids, followed by the common carbonaceous C-type asteroids. Rotation period In November 2005, a rotational lightcurve of Gaussia was obtained from photometric observations. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 20.99 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.11 magnitude (). Lower-rated lightcurves with a divergent period of 4.08 and 9.17 hours were previously obtained in 2005 and 2009, respectively (). Diameter and albedo According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Gaussia measures between 67.80 and 80.07 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.036 and 0.05. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0417 and a diameter of 74.71 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.7. Naming This minor planet was named by Swedish astronomer Bror Ansgar Asplind after Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), German mathematician and director of the Göttingen Observatory (), who also rediscovered Ceres using a new orbital computing method by Franz Xaver von Zach. The official naming citation was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by