1468 Zomba

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1468 Zomba
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. Jackson
Discovery site Johannesburg Obs.
Discovery date23 July 1938
Designations
(1468) Zomba
Named after
 Zomba (Malawian city) [2]
1938 PA
Mars-crosser [1] [3] [4]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 78.47 yr (28,660 days)
Aphelion 2.7913 AU
Perihelion 1.5998 AU
2.1956 AU
Eccentricity 0.2713
3.25 yr (1,188 days)
95.275°
0° 18m 10.8s / day
Inclination 9.9388°
308.93°
23.188°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions6.97±1.39 km [5]
8.57 km (calculated) [4]
2.769±0.005 h [6] [lower-alpha 1]
2.77 h [7]
2.772±0.006 h [8]
2.773±0.001 h [9]
0.20 (assumed) [4]
0.302±0.121 [5]
Q [10]  · S (assumed) [4]
12.70 [1] [4] [5]  ·13.05±0.45 [10]

    1468 Zomba, provisional designation 1938 PA, is a stony asteroid and large Mars-crosser near the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in 1938, the asteroid was named after the city of Zomba in the Republic of Malawi. [3]

    Contents

    Discovery

    Zomba was discovered on 23 July 1938, by South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa. [3] It was independently discovered by French astronomer Louis Boyer at the Algiers Observatory, Algeria, on 2 August 1938, [2] who first announce the asteroid's discovery. [1] The Minor Planet Center (MPC) only recognizes the first discoverer. [3]

    Orbit and classification

    Zomba is a Mars-crossing asteroid, a dynamically unstable group between the main belt and the near-Earth populations, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.666  AU. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.6–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,188 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.27 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Johannesburg. [3]

    Physical characteristics

    Zomba has been characterized as a Q-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey. [10] The Lightcurve Data Base assumes it to be a common S-type asteroid. [4]

    Rotation period

    Several rotational lightcurves of Zomba have been obtained from photometric observations. Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated rotation period of 2.773 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.3 and 0.36 magnitude ( U=3-/2/3/3 ). [6] [7] [8] [9] [lower-alpha 1]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Zomba measures 6.97 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.302, [5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 8.57 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.7. [4]

    This makes Zomba one of the largest mid-sized Mars-crossing asteroids comparable with 1065 Amundsenia (9.75 km), 1139 Atami (9.35 km), 1474 Beira (8.73 km), 1011 Laodamia (7.39 km), 1727 Mette (est 9 km), 1131 Porzia (7.13 km), 1235 Schorria (est. 9 km), 985 Rosina (8.18 km) and 1310 Villigera (15.24 km), but far smaller than the largest members of this dynamical group, namely, 132 Aethra, 323 Brucia, 1508 Kemi, 2204 Lyyli and 512 Taurinensis, which are all larger than 20 kilometers in diameter.

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after the town of Zomba in the Republic of Malawi, known as Nyasaland, a British protectorate, at the time of naming. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center in April 1953 ( M.P.C. 909). [11]

    Notes

    1. 1 2 Lightcurve plot of (1468) Zomba, Brian Warner (2015),Palmer Divide Station, California. Rotation period 2.769±0.005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.33 mag. Quality code of 3-ä. Summary figures at the LCDB

    Related Research Articles

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    7369 Gavrilin, provisional designation 1975 AN, is a stony Phocaean asteroid, sizable Mars-crosser, and binary system on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 January 1975, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula. The assumed S-type asteroid has a long rotation period of 49.1 hours. It was named after Russian composer Valery Gavrilin. The discovery of its 2.4-kilometer sized minor-planet moon was announced in October 2008.

    4451 Grieve, provisional designation 1988 JJ, is a stony asteroid and large Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the central asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 May 1988, by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California. The S-type asteroid is likely elongated and has a rotation period of 6.9 hours. It was named for Canadian geologist Richard Grieve.

    3800 Karayusuf, provisional designation 1984 AB, is a Mars-crossing asteroid and suspected binary system from inside the asteroid belt, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 January 1984, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California. The S/L-type asteroid has a short rotation period of 2.2 hours. It was named after Syrian physician Alford Karayusuf, a friend of the discoverer.

    1316 Kasan, provisional designation 1933 WC, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 17 November 1933, by Soviet astronomer Grigory Neujmin at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The asteroid was named for the city of Kazan, Russia, and its nearby Engelhardt Observatory.

    3635 Kreutz, provisional designation 1981 WO1, is a slowly rotating Hungaria asteroid and Mars-crosser from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 November 1981, by Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek at the Calar Alto Observatory in southern Spain.

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    3873 Roddy, provisional designation 1984 WB, is a stony Hungarian asteroid, Mars-crosser and suspected binary system, from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 November 1984, by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. It was named after American astrogeologist David Roddy.

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    3198 Wallonia, provisional designation 1981 YH1, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7.1 kilometers (4.4 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 30 December 1981, by Belgian astronomer François Dossin at the Haute-Provence Observatory in France. The S/K-type asteroid has a rotation period of 7.5 hours. It was named after the French speaking region of Wallonia in Belgium.

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">3674 Erbisbühl</span>

    3674 Erbisbühl is an stony asteroid and one of the largest Mars-crossers from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 September 1963, by German astronomer Cuno Hoffmeister at his Sonneberg Observatory on Mount Erbisbühl in Eastern Germany.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1468 Zomba (1938 PA)" (2017-01-09 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1468) Zomba". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 117. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1469. ISBN   978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "1468 Zomba (1938 PA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "LCDB Data for (1468) Zomba". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    5. 1 2 3 4 Alí-Lagoa, V.; Delbo', M. (July 2017). "Sizes and albedos of Mars-crossing asteroids from WISE/NEOWISE data" (PDF). Astronomy and Astrophysics. 603: 8. arXiv: 1705.10263 . Bibcode:2017A&A...603A..55A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629917 . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    6. 1 2 Warner, Brian D. (July 2015). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at CS3-Palmer Divide Station: 2014 December - 2015 March". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 42 (3): 167–172. Bibcode:2015MPBu...42..167W. ISSN   1052-8091 . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    7. 1 2 Wisniewski, W. Z.; McMillan, R. S. (May 1987). "Differential CCD photometry of faint asteroids in crowded star fields and nonphotometric sky conditions". Astronomical Journal. 93: 1264–1267. Bibcode:1987AJ.....93.1264W. doi: 10.1086/114408 . ISSN   0004-6256 . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    8. 1 2 Benishek, Vladimir (April 2014). "Rotation Period Determination for 1425 Tuorla, 1468 Zomba, 1486 Marilyn, 2112 Ulyanov, and (101158) 2000 OL". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (2): 126–127. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41..126B. ISSN   1052-8091 . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    9. 1 2 Alkema, Michael S. (January 2014). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at Elephant Head Observatory: 2013 August- October". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (1): 40. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41...40A. ISSN   1052-8091 . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    10. 1 2 3 Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv: 1506.00762 . Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007 . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
    11. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN   978-3-642-01964-7.
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