| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | O. A. Naranjo |
| Discovery site | Llano del Hato – Mérida |
| Discovery date | 22 September 1993 |
| Designations | |
| (12359) Cajigal | |
Named after | Juan Manuel Cajigal y Odoardo (mathematician, engineer, and statesman)[2] |
| 1993 SN3 · 1976 UU2 1998 QB9 | |
| main-belt · Themis[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 40.39 yr (14,754 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.6970 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7026 AU |
| 3.1998 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1554 |
| 5.72 yr (2,091 days) | |
| 53.802° | |
| 0° 10m 19.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 0.9455° |
| 175.05° | |
| 223.78° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 10.49 km (calculated)[3] 11.69±2.68km[4] 13.052±0.197km[5][6] |
| 11.7664±0.0038 h[7] | |
| 0.08 (assumed)[3] 0.095±0.022[5][6] 0.098±0.064[4] | |
| C[3] | |
| 12.9[1] · 13.10±0.41[8] · 12.805±0.003[7] · 12.6[5] · 13.25[3] · 12.80[4] | |
12359 Cajigal, provisional designation 1993 SN3, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered on 22 September 1993, by Venezuelan astronomer Orlando Naranjo at the Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory, Mérida, located in the Venezuelan Andes.[9] It was named after Venezuelan politician and scientist Juan Manuel Cajigal y Odoardo.[2]
Cajigal is a member of the Themis family, a dynamical family of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar ecliptical orbits.[3] It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,091 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
In October 1976, t was first observed as 1976 UU2atCrimea–Nauchnij. The body's observation arc begins 2 years prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken at Steward Observatory (Kitt Peak–Spacewatch) in June 1991.[9]
In September 2010, a photometric lightcurveofCajigal obtained in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California, gave a rotation periodof11.7664 hours with a brightness variation of 0.27 magnitude (U=2).[7]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Cajigal measures 11.69 and 13.052 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.098 and 0.095, respectively.[4][5][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a C-type like standard albedo for members of the Themis family of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 10.5 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.25.[3]
This minor planet was named after Venezuelan mathematician, engineer, and statesman, Juan Manuel Cajigal y Odoardo (1803–1856), who introduced the study of mathematics and engineering in his country with his founding of the Military Academy of Mathematics in 1831. He also installed the first astronomical telescopes in Caracas, where the Cajigal Observatory ("El Observatorio Cajigal") was later established in 1888.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 10 September 2003 (M.P.C. 49675).[10]
