| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Jackson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 19 May 1934 |
| Designations | |
| (1323) Tugela | |
Named after | Tugela River[2] (South Africanriver) |
| 1934 LD · 1974 HR3 1974 KM · 1974 KO A908 UB · A911 HC | |
| main-belt · (outer)[1][3] background[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 109.02 yr (39,818 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.7100AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7510 AU |
| 3.2305 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1484 |
| 5.81yr (2,121 days) | |
| 234.50° | |
| 0° 10m 10.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 18.787° |
| 45.241° | |
| 136.10° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 58.44±3.4 km[5] 58.50 km(derived)[3] 62.00±19.32 km[6] 63.45±0.94 km[7] 67.76±25.28 km[8] 78.295±0.511 km[9] 90.557±0.542 km[10] 110.11±1.73 km[11] |
| 19.50±0.02h[12][a] 19.777±0.0365 h[13] | |
| 0.018±0.004[11] 0.0236±0.0044[10] 0.04±0.02[6] 0.04±0.03[8] 0.048±0.002[7] 0.0567±0.007[5] 0.0620(derived)[3] | |
| SMASS =Xc[1] P[10] · C(assumed)[3] | |
| 9.56±0.62[14] · 9.80[3][11] · 9.84[8] · 9.90[1][5][6][7][10] · 10.245±0.001(S)[13] | |
1323 Tugela, provisional designation1934 LD, is a dark backgroundasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 60 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 May 1934, by South African astronomerCyril Jackson at theUnion Observatory in Johannesburg.[15] The asteroid was named for theTugela River in western South Africa.[2]
Tugela is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population.[4] It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 10 months (2,121 days;semi-major axis of 3.23 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.15 and aninclination of 19° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The body'sobservation arc begins with its first identification asA908 UB atHeidelberg Observatory in October 1908, almost 26 years prior to its official discovery observation at Johannesburg.[15]
In theSMASS classification,Tugela is an Xc-subtype that transitions from theX-type to the carbonaceousC-type asteroids.[1] TheWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) characterized it as a primitiveP-type asteroid, while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes it to be a C-type.[3][10]
Observations performed by American astronomerBrian Warner at thePalmer Divide Observatory in Colorado Springs, Colorado, during February 2007 produced alightcurve with a period of 19.50 ± 0.02 hours and an amplitude of 0.25 ± 0.02 inmagnitude (U=3).[12][a] In September 2011, photometry in the S-band at thePalomar Transient Factory gave a similar period of 19.777 hours with a brightness variation of 0.18 magnitude (U=2).[13]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope,Tugela measures between 58.44 and 110.11 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.018 and 0.0567.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
CALL largely agrees with IRAS and derives an albedo of 0.0620 with a diameter of 58.50 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 9.8.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after theTugela River, the largest river in theKwaZulu-Natal Province of western South Africa. The official naming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 121).[2]
