| 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 | 2.8258AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9172 AU |
| 2.3715 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1916 |
| 3.65yr (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±0.02h[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 designation1939 MB, is a stony Phocaeaasteroid in from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 June 1939, by English-born South African astronomerCyril Jackson atJohannesburg Observatory in South Africa.[10] It is named for theKatanga Province.[2]
TheS-type asteroid is a member of thePhocaea family, a smaller population of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics named after their largest member,25 Phocaea.Katanga orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,334 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.19 and aninclination of 26° with respect to theecliptic.[1] Katanga'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation in 1939, as its first observation made atHeidelberg Observatory in 1928, remained unused (1928 KD).[10]
In April 2008, a rotationallightcurve ofKatanga was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomerBrian D. Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado. It gave arotation period of 8.481 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30magnitude (U=3).[9] The quality of this result supersedes two periods previously obtained by astronomersStefano 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 SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Katanga measures between 9.76 and 15.90 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.133 and 0.353.[4][5][6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.242 and a diameter of 16.28 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 11.1.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after theKatanga Province, a rich mining region in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 February 1980 (M.P.C. 5183).[11]
