1506 Xosa

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1506 Xosa
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. Jackson
Discovery site Johannesburg Obs.
Discovery date15 May 1939
Designations
(1506) Xosa
Named after
 Xhosa people
(Bantu ethnic group) [2]
1939 JC
main-belt  ·(middle) [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 77.97 yr (28,477 days)
Aphelion 3.2408 AU
Perihelion 1.9052 AU
2.5730 AU
Eccentricity 0.2595
4.13 yr (1,507 days)
338.30°
0° 14m 19.68s / day
Inclination 12.550°
234.53°
45.154°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions11.83 km (calculated) [3]
13.963±0.702 km [4]
5.90±0.01 h (dated) [5]
5.9±0.1 h (dated) [6]
292±3 h [7]
298.0659±5.5273 h [8]
0.157±0.037 [4]
0.20 (assumed) [3]
S [3]
11.820±0.003(R) [8]  ·11.90 [4]  ·12.0 [1] [3]

    1506 Xosa, provisional designation 1939 JC, is a stony asteroid and slow rotator from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 May 1939, by English-born, South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa. [9] It is named for the Xhosa people. [2]

    Contents

    Orbit and classification

    The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–3.2  AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,507 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] Xosa's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation, as no precoveries were taken and no prior identifications were made. [9]

    Physical characteristics

    Slow rotator

    In Fall 2010, lightcurve photometry by Brian Warner and at the Palomar Transient Factory revealed that Xosa is a slow rotator with a notably long rotation period of 292 and 298 hours and a brightness variation of 0.70 and 0.42 magnitude, respectively ( U=2+/2 ). [7] [8] It also seems to be in a non-principal axis rotation (NPAR), colloquially called as "tumbling". However, observations are insufficient to determine the body's tumbling, or to rule out a non-tumbling state (T0). [7] These observations superseded previous periods obtained in 2001 and 2005 ( U=1/1 ). [5] [6] [10]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Xosa measures 13.96 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.157, [4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 11.83 kilometers using an absolute magnitude of 12.0. [3]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after the Xhosa (formerly spelled "Xosa"), a Bantu ethnic group of native people in south-east South Africa, and who came into early contact with the white settlers. [2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center in April 1953 ( M.P.C. 909). [11]

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1506 Xosa (1939 JC)" (2017-05-02 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 5 June 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1506) Xosa". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1506) Xosa. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 120. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1507. ISBN   978-3-540-00238-3.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (1506) Xosa". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 4 January 2017.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Masiero, 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 . Retrieved 4 January 2017.
    5. 1 2 Robinson, L. E.; Warner, B. D. (March 2002). "A Collaborative Work on Three Asteroid Lightcurves: 506 Marion, 585 Bilkis, 1506 Xosa". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 29: 6–7. Bibcode:2002MPBu...29....6R . Retrieved 4 January 2017.
    6. 1 2 Stecher, George; Ford, Lyle; Bianchi, Natalie; Warner, Brian D.; Robinson, Larry (October 2009). "On the Period of 1506 Xosa". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 36 (4): 138–139. Bibcode:2009MPBu...36..138S. ISSN   1052-8091 . Retrieved 4 January 2017.
    7. 1 2 3 Warner, Brian D. (April 2011). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: 2010 September-December". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (2): 82–86. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38...82W. ISSN   1052-8091 . Retrieved 4 January 2017.
    8. 1 2 3 Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv: 1504.04041 . Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75 . Retrieved 4 January 2017.
    9. 1 2 "1506 Xosa (1939 JC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
    10. ↑ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1506) Xosa". Geneva Observatory . Retrieved 4 January 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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