1506 Xosa

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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 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 76.42 yr (27,911 days)
Aphelion 3.2414 AU
Perihelion 1.9017 AU
2.5716 AU
Eccentricity 0.2604
4.12 yr (1,506 days)
147.06°
Inclination 12.546°
234.58°
45.262°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 13.96±0.70 km[4]
11.83 km (calculated)[3]
292 h[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

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External links


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