1428 Mombasa
Main-belt asteroid
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1428 Mombasa, provisional designation 1937 NO, is a dark asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 56 kilometers in diameter.
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Jackson |
| Discovery site | Johannesburg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 5 July 1937 |
| Designations | |
| (1428) Mombasa | |
Named after | Mombasa (city, port)[2] |
| 1937 NO · 1933 WO 1949 FA · 1957 YZ | |
| main-belt · (middle) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 82.74 yr (30,219 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2039 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4154 AU |
| 2.8096 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1403 |
| 4.71 yr (1,720 days) | |
| 263.81° | |
| 0° 12m 33.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 17.305° |
| 115.72° | |
| 252.61° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 52.464±0.268 km[3] 53.35±13.28 km[4] 55.34±0.70 km[5] 56.63±2.0 km[6] 56.83 km (derived)[7] 57.59±19.41 km[8] 62.45±0.73 km[9] 127.203±29.18 km[10] |
| 16.67±0.01 h[a] 17.12±0.01 h[11] 17.6±0.2 h[12] | |
| 0.0010±0.0099[10] 0.0240±0.002[6] 0.025±0.001[5] 0.038±0.004[9] 0.04±0.04[8] 0.0415 (derived)[7] 0.06±0.06[4] | |
| SMASS = Xc[1] · P[10] · C[7] | |
| 9.95±0.74[13] · 10.20[8][9] · 10.27[4] · 10.3[1][7] · 10.9[5][6][10] | |
It was discovered on 5 July 1937, by English-born South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory, South Africa, and later named after Mombasa, Kenya.[2][14]
Orbit and classification
Mombasa orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4â3.2 AU once every 4 years and 9 months (1,720 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.14 and an inclination of 17° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Mombasa was first identified as 1933 WO at Lowell Observatory, extending the body's observation arc by 4 years prior to its official discovery at Johannesburg.[14]
Physical characteristics
Rotation period
American astronomer Robert Stephens obtained a rotational lightcurve of Mombasa in June 2012. Light-curve analysis gave a rotation period of 16.67 hours with a brightness variation of 0.16 magnitude (U=2+).[a] Previous lightcurves were obtained by French amateur astronomer René Roy in February 2006 (17.6 hours, Î0.15 mag; U=2),[12] as well as by Scot Hawkins and Richard Ditteon at Oakley Observatory in May 2007 (17.12 hours, Î0.25 mag; U=2).[11]
Spectral type, diameter and albedo
On the SMASS taxonomic scheme, Mombasa is a Xc-type, an intermediate between the carbonaceous C and X-type, while it is also described as a darker P-type asteroid.[10] According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Mombasa measures between 52.46 and 62.45 kilometers in diameter, ignoring a preliminary result of 127 km,[10] and its surface has an albedo of 0.025 and 0.06.[3][4][5][6][8][9] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0415 and a diameter of 56.83 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 10.3.[7]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Mombasa, chief-port and second largest city of Kenya on the coast of East Africa.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center in April 1953 (M.P.C. 909).[15]
Notes
- Stephens (2012) web: rotation period 16.67±0.01 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.16 mag. Notes: "A half-period of 8.38 h cannot be formally excluded". Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) for (1428) Mombasa
