| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Jackson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 29 April 1930 |
| Designations | |
| (1268) Libya | |
Named after | Libya(country)[2] |
| 1930 HJ · 1929 EA 1930 KN | |
| main-belt · (outer)[1] Hilda[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 87.09 yr (31,811 days) |
| Aphelion | 4.3787AU |
| Perihelion | 3.5686 AU |
| 3.9737 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1019 |
| 7.92yr (2,893 days) | |
| 157.54° | |
| 0° 7m 27.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.4272° |
| 351.00° | |
| 119.43° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.7451 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 93.44±1.42 km[5] 94.10±2.3 km[6] 96.708±0.848 km[7] |
| 14.05h[8] 14.05008 h[9] | |
| 0.043±0.003[7] 0.0449±0.002[6] 0.046±0.002[5] | |
| Tholen =P[1][4] B–V = 0.663[1] U–B = 0.228[1] | |
| 9.12[1][4][5][6] · 9.19±0.33[10] | |
1268 Libya, provisional designation1930 HJ, is a dark Hildianasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 95 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 April 1930, by South African astronomerCyril Jackson at theUnion Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa.[3] The asteroid was named for the countryLibya.[2]
Libya belongs to the dynamicalHilda group of asteroids, which reside in, or closely inside the 3:2orbital resonance with the giant planetJupiter at 4.0 AU.[3][4] However, the asteroid belongs to thebackground population as it is not a member of any knownasteroid family within the Hildian dynamical group.[11]
Libya orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 3.6–4.4 AU once every 7 years and 11 months (2,893 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.10 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroid was first identified as1929 EA atUccle Observatory in March 1929, and itsobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Johannesburg in 1930.[3]
In theTholen classification,Libya is a primitiveP-type asteroid.[1]
In June 1994, a rotationallightcurve ofLibya was obtained from photometric observations by Swedish astronomer Mats Dahlgren(see6945) at ESO'sLa Silla Observatory using theDutch 0.9-metre Telescope. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 14.05 hours with a brightness variation of 0.08magnitude (U=3).[8] In October 2011, observations by French amateur astronomerRené Roy also gave a period of 14.05 hours and a low amplitude of 0.06 magnitude (U=n.a.). A low brightness amplitude typically indicates that the body has aspheroidal rather than an elongated or irregular shape.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Libya measures between 93.44 and 96.708 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.043 and 0.046.[5][6][7]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link adopts the results obtained by IRAS, that is, an albedo of 0.0449 and a diameter of 94.10 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 9.12.[4]
Between 2018 and 2021, 1268 Libya has been observed tooccult three stars.
Thisminor planet was named after the North African country ofLibya, bordering theMediterranean Sea. The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 116).[2]
