• Source: 1468 Zomba

1468 Zomba, provisional designation 1938 PA, is a stony asteroid and large Mars-crosser near the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in 1938, the asteroid was named after the city of Zomba in the Republic of Malawi.




Discovery


Zomba was discovered on 23 July 1938, by South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was independently discovered by French astronomer Louis Boyer at the Algiers Observatory, Algeria, on 2 August 1938, who first announce the asteroid's discovery. The Minor Planet Center (MPC) only recognizes the first discoverer.




Orbit and classification


Zomba is a Mars-crossing asteroid, a dynamically unstable group between the main belt and the near-Earth populations, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.666 AU. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.6–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,188 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.27 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Johannesburg.




Physical characteristics


Zomba has been characterized as a Q-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey. The Lightcurve Data Base assumes it to be a common S-type asteroid.




= Rotation period

=
Several rotational lightcurves of Zomba have been obtained from photometric observations. Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated rotation period of 2.773 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.3 and 0.36 magnitude (U=3-/2/3/3).




= Diameter and albedo

=
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Zomba measures 6.97 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.302, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 8.57 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.7.
This makes Zomba one of the largest mid-sized Mars-crossing asteroids comparable with 1065 Amundsenia (9.75 km), 1139 Atami (9.35 km), 1474 Beira (8.73 km), 1011 Laodamia (7.39 km), 1727 Mette (est 9 km), 1131 Porzia (7.13 km), 1235 Schorria (est. 9 km), 985 Rosina (8.18 km) and 1310 Villigera (15.24 km), but far smaller than the largest members of this dynamical group, namely, 132 Aethra, 323 Brucia, 1508 Kemi, 2204 Lyyli and 512 Taurinensis, which are all larger than 20 kilometers in diameter.




Naming


This minor planet was named after the town of Zomba in the Republic of Malawi, known as Nyasaland, a British protectorate, at the time of naming. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center in April 1953 (M.P.C. 909).




Notes






References






External links


Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
1468 Zomba at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
1468 Zomba at the JPL Small-Body Database

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• 1468 Zomba
• Zomba
• Meanings of minor-planet names: 1001–2000
• List of minor planets: 1001–2000
• Cyril Jackson (astronomer)
• Union Observatory
• List of Mars-crossing minor planets
• 26858 Misterrogers
• 1425 Tuorla
• List of named minor planets: 1000–1999