_Jugurtha.png) Shape model ofJugurtha from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Jackson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 1 September 1932 |
| Designations | |
| (1248) Jugurtha | |
| Pronunciation | /dʒʊˈɡɜːrθə/[2] |
Named after | Jugurtha[3] (King ofNumidia) |
| 1932 RO · 1930 DU A901 VE · A915 XB | |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 116.94yr (42,713 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.7671AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6769 AU |
| 2.7220 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0166 |
| 4.49 yr (1,640 d) | |
| 32.971° | |
| 0° 13m 10.2s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.1387° |
| 79.381° | |
| 345.85° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 27.46±1.04 km[7] 28.468±0.193 km[8][9] 30.47±0.45 km[10] 33.559±0.209 km[11] | |
| 12.190±0.002 h[12][13] | |
| 0.2073[11] 0.257[8] 0.269[10] 0.282[7] | |
| SMASS =S[6][14] | |
| 9.70[8][10][11] 9.80[7] 9.9[1][4][14] | |
1248 Jugurtha (prov. designation:1932 RO) is a stonybackground asteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 29 kilometers (18 miles) in diameter. Discovered byCyril Jackson at theUnion Observatory in 1932, the asteroid was named afterJugurtha, the ancient North African king ofNumidia. TheS-type asteroid is likely elongated in shape and has arotation period of 12.9 hours.[14]
Jugurtha was discovered on 1 September 1932, by South African astronomerCyril Jackson at theUnion Observatory in Johannesburg.[1] On 29 September 1932, it was independently determined by Soviet astronomerGrigory Neujmin at theSimeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula.[3] TheMinor Planet Center only recognizes the first discoverer.[1]
Jugurtha is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population.[6][5] It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.7–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 6 months (1,640 days;semi-major axis of 2.72 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.02 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[4] The body'sobservation arc begins with its first observation asA901 VE atHeidelberg Observatory in November 1901, nearly 31 years prior to its official discovery, .[1]
Thisminor planet was named afterJugurtha (160–104 BC), a king ofNumidia in North Africa, opposed to and defeated byRome in theJugurthine War (112–106 BC). The officialnaming citation was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 115).[3]
In theSMASS classification,Jugurtha is a common, stonyS-type asteroid.[6][14]
Several rotationallightcurves ofJugurtha have been obtained fromphotometric observations since 2001.[14][13][15][a] Analysis of the best-rated lightcurve gave arotation period of12.190±0.002 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.70 and 1.40magnitude (U=3), indicative of an elongated, non-spherical shape.[12] A modeled lightcurve, using photometric data from the Lowell Photometric Database, gave a concurring period of 12.19047 hours, as well as aspin axis of (254.0°, −89.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[16]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Jugurtha measures between 27.46 and 33.559 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.2073 and 0.282.[7][8][9][10][11] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 31.12 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 9.9.[14]
