.png) Lightcurve based 3D-model ofLimpopo | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Jackson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 14 June 1936 |
| Designations | |
| (1490) Limpopo | |
Named after | Limpopo River[2] |
| 1936 LB · 1931 BL 1937 WJ · 1937 YK 1947 ND · 1965 OD | |
| main-belt · (inner)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 85.81 yr (31,341 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7182AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9869 AU |
| 2.3525 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1554 |
| 3.61yr (1,318 days) | |
| 63.865° | |
| 0° 16m 23.16s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.020° |
| 254.27° | |
| 90.817° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 14.844±0.112[4] 16.358±0.045 km[5] 18.55 km(derived)[3] 18.58±1.4 km[6] 19.35±0.27 km[7] 20.21±0.36 km[8] |
| 6.15±0.1h[9] 6.426±0.003 h[10] 6.647±0.004 h[11] | |
| 0.068±0.011[7][4] 0.069±0.003[8] 0.0742(derived)[3] 0.0811±0.014[6] 0.1048±0.0332[5] | |
| SMASS = Xc[1] · M[5] · X[3] | |
| 11.33±0.82[12] · 12.0[5][6][8] · 12.1[1][3][7] | |
1490 Limpopo, provisional designation1936 LB, is a carbonaceous–metallicasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 18 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 June 1936, by English-born South African astronomerCyril Jackson atJohannesburg Observatory in South Africa.[13] It was named for theLimpopo River.[2]
Limpopo orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,318 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.16 and aninclination of 10° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins 2 weeks prior to its official discovery observation. Its first identification as1931 BL atLowell Observatory in 1931 remains unused.[13]
Between August and November 2005, three rotationallightcurves ofLimpopo were obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomerLaurent Bernasconi, Pedro Sada at the Mexican Monterrey Observatory, and Dicy Saylor at University of Georgia, United States. The lightcurves gave arotation period between 6.15 and 6.647 hours with a brightness variation of 0.15–0.26magnitude (U=2-/3/3).[9][10][11]
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,Limpopo measures between 14.84 and 20.21 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.068 and 0.105.[4][5][6][7][8] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0742 and a diameter of 18.55 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.1.[3] TheX-type asteroid is also classified as a metallicM-type by WISE and as a carbonaceous intermediate Xc-type in theSMASS taxonomy.[1][5]
Thisminor planet was named after theLimpopo River, which rises in central southern Africa, and flows through Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe into the Indian Ocean.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center in April 1953 (M.P.C. 909).[14]
