Main-belt asteroid
131 Vala is an inner main-belt asteroid . It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on 24 May 1873, and derives its name from völva (vǫlva , lit. ' staff bearer ' ), a prophetess in Norse paganism .[ 4] One observation of an occultation of a star by Vala is from Italy (26 May 2002). 10-μm radiometric data collected from Kitt Peak in 1975 gave a diameter estimate of 34 km.[ 5]
In the Tholen classification system, it is categorized as an SU-type asteroid , while the Bus asteroid taxonomy system lists it as a K-type asteroid .[ 3] Photometric observations of this asteroid during 2007 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico were used to create a "nearly symmetric bimodal" light curve plot. This showed a rotation period of 10.359 ± 0.001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.09 ± 0.02 magnitude during each cycle.[ 6] The result is double the 5.18-hour period reported in the JPL Small-Body Database .[ 1]
On 2028-Apr-05, Vala will pass 0.0276 AU (4,130,000 km ; 2,570,000 mi ) from asteroid 2 Pallas .[ 7]
References
^ a b c d e f g "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 131 Vala" (2011-10-20 last obs (arc=138 years)). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 12 May 2016 .
^ "Vala" . Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
^ a b DeMeo, Francesca E.; et al. (July 2009), "An extension of the Bus asteroid taxonomy into the near-infrared" (PDF) , Icarus , vol. 202, no. 1, pp. 160– 180, Bibcode :2009Icar..202..160D , doi :10.1016/j.icarus.2009.02.005 , archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2014, retrieved 8 April 2013 . See appendix A.
^ Schmadel, Lutz D. ; International Astronomical Union (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names . Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag . p. 27. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3 .
^ Morrison, D.; Chapman, C. R. (March 1976), "Radiometric diameters for an additional 22 asteroids", Astrophysical Journal , vol. 204, pp. 934– 939, Bibcode :2008mgm..conf.2594S , doi :10.1142/9789812834300_0469 .
^ Pilcher, Frederick (June 2008), "Period Determination for 84 Klio, 98 Ianthe, 102 Miriam 112 Iphigenia, 131 Vala, and 650 Amalasuntha", The Minor Planet Bulletin , vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 71– 72, arXiv :1203.4336 , Bibcode :2008MPBu...35...71P , doi :10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009 .
^ "JPL Close-Approach Data: 131 Vala" (2011-10-20 last obs (arc=138 years)). Retrieved 7 December 2011 .
Further reading
Franco, Lorenzo; et al. (October 2019), "Spin-Shape Model for 131 Vala", Bulletin of the Minor Planets Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers , 46 (4): 392– 394, Bibcode :2019MPBu...46..392F
External links