1506 Xosa

1506 Xosa
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. Jackson
Discovery site Johannesburg Obs.
Discovery date 15 May 1939
Designations
MPC designation 1506 Xosa
Named after
 Xhosa people
(Bantu ethnic group)[2]
1939 JC
main-belt · (inner) [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 76.91 yr (28092 days)
Aphelion 3.2417 AU (484.95 Gm)
Perihelion 1.9033 AU (284.73 Gm)
2.5725 AU (384.84 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.26013
4.13 yr (1507.1 d)
242.74°
0° 14m 19.932s / day
Inclination 12.544°
234.57°
45.209°
Earth MOID 0.909339 AU (136.0352 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 1.94229 AU (290.562 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.348
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 13.96±0.70 km[4]
11.83 km (calculated)[3]
292 h (12.2 d)[1][5]
5.90±0.01 h[6]
5.9±0.1 h[7]
298.0659±5.5273 h[8]
0.157±0.037[4]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
S [3]
12.0

    1506 Xosa, provisional designation 1939 JC, is an eccentric, stony asteroid, slow rotator, and suspected tumbler from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by English-born, South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg on 15 May 1939.[9]

    The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,506 days). Its orbit shows an relatively high eccentricity of 0.26 and is tilted by 13 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. According to the survey carried out by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer/NEOWISE its albedo amounts to 0.16.[4]

    Xosa has a notably long rotation period of 292 to 298 hours[5][8] and seems to be in a non-principal axis rotation (NPAR), colloquially called as "tumbling".[5] The results, however, are ambiguous, as alternative observations gave a much shorter period.[6][7] A third measurement was taken back by astronomer Stéphane Charbonnel after the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) had published their observation of the long-periodical asteroid.[10]

    The 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]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1506 Xosa (1939 JC)" (2015-10-14 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1506) Xosa. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 120. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
    3. 1 2 3 4 "LCDB Data for (1506) Xosa". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 25 November 2015.
    4. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; 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:1209.5794Freely accessible. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
    5. 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 25 November 2015.
    6. 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 25 November 2015.
    7. 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 25 November 2015.
    8. 1 2 Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; 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:1504.04041Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
    9. ↑ "1506 Xosa (1939 JC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
    10. ↑ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (1506) Xosa". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 25 November 2015.

    External links


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