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1921 Pala

Main-belt asteroid

Field	Value
minorplanet	yes
name	1921 Pala
background	#D6D6D6
discovery_ref
discovered	20 September 1973
discoverer	T. Gehrels
discovery_site	Palomar Obs.
mpc_name	(1921) Pala
alt_names	1973 SE
named_after	Pala (Indian reservation)
mp_category	main-belt(outer)
background
orbit_ref
epoch	4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
uncertainty	0
observation_arc	43.52 yr (15,895 days)
aphelion	4.5807 AU
perihelion	2.0148 AU
semimajor	3.2978 AU
eccentricity	0.3890
period	5.99 yr (2,187 days)
mean_anomaly	165.04°
mean_motion	/ day
inclination	19.192°
asc_node	352.31°
arg_peri	20.092°
dimensions	8.2 km
abs_magnitude	14.314.6

background

1921 Pala, provisional designation is a background asteroid in an unstable orbit located in the outer region of asteroid belt, approximately 8.2 kilometers in diameter. It is one of very few bodies located in the 2 : 1 mean motion resonance with Jupiter. It was discovered by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory on 20 September 1973.

Orbit and characterization

Pala is a non-family background asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–4.6 AU once every 5 years and 12 months (2,187 days; semi-major axis of 3.30 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.39 and an inclination of 19° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins at Palomar with its official discovery observation.

It has a strongly unstable orbit near the 2:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter. The asteroid's orbit is expected to persist for another 18 million years though.

Pala measures approximately 8.2 kilometers in diameter, while the albedo of its surface has not been estimated. As of 2017, the body's spectral type as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.

Naming

This minor planet is named after the Indian reservation, Pala, located at the base of Palomar Mountain, believed to apply to an Indian tribe whose members have lived in the area for many centuries. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3938).

References

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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