| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Jackson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 15 May 1939 |
| Designations | |
| (1506) Xosa | |
Named after | Xhosa people (Bantu ethnic group)[2] |
| 1939 JC | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 77.97 yr (28,477 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2408 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9052 AU |
| 2.5730 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2595 |
| 4.13 yr (1,507 days) | |
| 338.30° | |
| 0° 14m 19.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 12.550° |
| 234.53° | |
| 45.154° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 11.83 km (calculated)[3] 13.963±0.702km[4] |
| 5.90±0.01 h (dated)[5] 5.9±0.1h(dated)[6] 292±3h[7] 298.0659±5.5273h[8] | |
| 0.157±0.037[4] 0.20 (assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 11.820±0.003 (R)[8] · 11.90[4] · 12.0[1][3] | |
1506 Xosa, provisional designation 1939 JC, is a stony asteroid and slow rotator from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 May 1939, by English-born, South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa.[9] It is named for the Xhosa people.[2]
The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,507 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Xosa'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation, as no precoveries were taken and no prior identifications were made.[9]
In Fall 2010, lightcurve photometry by Brian Warner and at the Palomar Transient Factory revealed that Xosa is a slow rotator with a notably long rotation period of 292 and 298 hours and a brightness variation of 0.70 and 0.42 magnitude, respectively (U=2+/2).[7][8] It also seems to be in a non-principal axis rotation (NPAR), colloquially called as "tumbling". However, observations are insufficient to determine the body's tumbling, or to rule out a non-tumbling state (T0).[7] These observations superseded previous periods obtained in 2001 and 2005 (U=1/1).[5][6][10]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Xosa measures 13.96 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.157,[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 11.83 kilometers using an absolute magnitude of 12.0.[3]
This minor planet was named after the Xhosa (formerly spelled "Xosa"), a Bantu ethnic group of native people in south-east South Africa, and who came into early contact with the white settlers.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center in April 1953 (M.P.C. 909).[11]
