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1817 Katanga
Discovery
Discovered by	C. Jackson
Discovery site	Johannesburg Obs.
Discovery date	20 June 1939
Designations
MPC designation	(1817) Katanga
Named after	Katanga Province; (Congo, Dem. Rep.)
Alternative designations	1939 MB · 1928 KD; 1950 NK · 1971 BG
Minor planet category	main-belt · Phocaea
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	77.58 yr (28,337 days)
Aphelion	2.8258 AU
Perihelion	1.9172 AU
Semi-major axis	2.3715 AU
Eccentricity	0.1916
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.65 yr (1,334 days)
Mean anomaly	173.17°
Mean motion	0° 16m 11.64s / day
Inclination	25.709°
Longitude of ascending node	88.723°
Argument of perihelion	140.27°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	9.76±1.21 km; 15.89±1.56 km; 15.90±1.0 km (IRAS:14); 16.28 km (derived)
Synodic rotation period	6.35±0.02 h; 7.2165±0.0003 h; 8.481±0.003 h
Geometric albedo	0.1331±0.018 (IRAS:14); 0.2421 (derived); 0.342±0.151; 0.353±0.089
Spectral type	S
Absolute magnitude (H)	10.78 · 11.1 · 11.80 ·

1817 Katanga, provisional designation 1939 MB, is a stony Phocaea asteroid in from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 June 1939, by English-born South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa.^[10] It is named for the Katanga Province.^[2]

Orbit and classification

The S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family, a smaller population of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics named after their largest member, 25 Phocaea. Katanga orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,334 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 26° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] Katanga's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation in 1939, as its first observation made at Heidelberg Observatory in 1928, remained unused (1928 KD).^[10]

Lightcurves

In April 2008, a rotational lightcurve of Katanga was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian D. Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado. It gave a rotation period of 8.481 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30 magnitude (U=3).^[9] The quality of this result supersedes two periods previously obtained by astronomers Stefano Sposetti and Glenn Malcolm in May and June 2001, respectively (U=2/2).^[7]^[8]

Diameter and albedo

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, Katanga measures between 9.76 and 15.90 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.133 and 0.353.^[4]^[5]^[6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.242 and a diameter of 16.28 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.1.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after the Katanga Province, a rich mining region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.^[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 February 1980 (M.P.C. 5183).^[11]