Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | C. Jackson |
Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
Discovery date | 20 June 1939 |
Designations | |
(1817) Katanga | |
Named after |
Katanga Province (Congo, Dem. Rep.) [2] |
1939 MB · 1928 KD 1950 NK · 1971 BG | |
main-belt · Phocaea [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 77.58 yr (28,337 days) |
Aphelion | 2.8258 AU |
Perihelion | 1.9172 AU |
2.3715 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1916 |
3.65 yr (1,334 days) | |
173.17 ° | |
0° 16m 11.64s / day | |
Inclination | 25.709° |
88.723° | |
140.27° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 9.76±1.21 km
[4] 15.89±1.56 km [5] 15.90±1.0 km ( IRAS:14) [6] 16.28 km (derived) [3] |
6.35±0.02
h
[7] 7.2165±0.0003 h [8] 8.481±0.003 h [9] | |
0.1331±0.018 (IRAS:14)
[6] 0.2421 (derived) [3] 0.342±0.151 [5] 0.353±0.089 [4] | |
S [3] | |
10.78 [5] · 11.1 [1] [3] · 11.80 [4] [6] · | |
1817 Katanga, provisional designation 1939 MB, is a stony Phocaea asteroid in from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 June 1939, by English-born South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa. [10] It is named for the Katanga Province. [2]
The S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family, a smaller population of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics named after their largest member, 25 Phocaea. Katanga orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,334 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 26 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] Katanga's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation in 1939, as its first observation made at Heidelberg Observatory in 1928, remained unused (1928 KD). [10]
In April 2008, a rotational lightcurve of Katanga was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian D. Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado. It gave a rotation period of 8.481 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30 magnitude ( U=3). [9] The quality of this result supersedes two periods previously obtained by astronomers Stefano Sposetti and Glenn Malcolm in May and June 2001, respectively ( U=2/2). [7] [8]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Katanga measures between 9.76 and 15.90 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.133 and 0.353. [4] [5] [6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.242 and a diameter of 16.28 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.1. [3]
This minor planet was named after the Katanga Province, a rich mining region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. [2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 February 1980 ( M.P.C. 5183). [11]