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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]
| 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] · | |
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]
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