1980 Tezcatlipoca

Lightcurve-based 3D-model of Tezcatlipoca
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	A. G. Wilson A.A.E. Wallenquist
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	19 June 1950
Designations
MPC designation	(1980) Tezcatlipoca
Pronunciation	/ˌtɛzkætliˈpoʊkə/
Named after	Tezcatlipoca (Aztec creator god)[2]
Alternative designations	1950 LA
Minor planet category	NEO · Amor[1][3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	66.96 yr (24,458 days)
Aphelion	2.3331 AU
Perihelion	1.0858 AU
Semi-major axis	1.7094 AU
Eccentricity	0.3648
Orbital period (sidereal)	2.24 yr (816 days)
Mean anomaly	328.60°
Mean motion	0° 26m 27.6s / day
Inclination	26.869°
Longitude of ascending node	246.57°
Argument of perihelion	115.49°
Earth MOID	0.2455 AU · 95.6 LD
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4.3 km (Gehrels)[1] 4.36±0.10[4] 4.50±0.04 km[5] 5.998 km[6] 6.00 km (taken)[7] 6.012±0.083 km[8] 6.66 km[9]
Synodic rotation period	7.24612±0.00005 h[10] 7.2505±0.0008 h[11] 7.251±0.002 h[12] 7.25225 h[13] 7.25226±0.00005 h[14]
Geometric albedo	0.1279[6][7] 0.132±0.028[8] 0.145[9] 0.247±0.005[5] 0.25 (Gehrels)[1] 0.26±0.03[4] 0.47±0.43[15]
Spectral type	SU (Tholen)[1] Sl (SMASS)[1] Sw (ExploreNEOs)[16] S (LCDB)[7] B–V = 0.955[1] U–B = 0.455[1]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.6[9] · 13.87[4] · 13.92[1][5][8] · 13.96±0.1[6][7][11] · 14.30±1.07[17]

1980 Tezcatlipoca, provisional designation 1950 LA, is an eccentric, stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 6 kilometers (4 mi) in diameter.

It was discovered on 19 June 1950, by American astronomer Albert Wilson and Swedish astronomer Åke Wallenquist at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.^[3] It was named after the Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca.^[2]

Tezcatlipoca orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.1–2.3 AU once every 2 years and 3 months (816 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.36 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

This near-Earth object has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.2455 AU (36,700,000 km), which corresponds to 95.6 lunar distances.^[1] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar.^[3]

The S-type asteroid is classified as a Sw-type by the ExploreNEOs project,^[16] and as a SU and Sl-type on the Tholen and SMASS taxonomic scheme, respectively.^[1]

Between 1988 and 2015, five rotational lightcurves of Tezcatlipoca were obtained from photometric observations and gave a well-defined, concurring rotation period of 7.25 hours with a brightness variation between 0.22 and 1.01 in magnitude, indicative of a non-spheroidal shape (U=3/n.a./2+/3-/n.a.).^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Tezcatlipoca measures between 4.36 and 6.012 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.128 and 0.26.^[4][5][6][8] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the revised NEOWISE observations, that is, an albedo of 0.128 and a diameter of 6.0 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.96.^[7]

This minor planet was named after Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec deity of matter, whose name translates to "Smoking Mirror" in the Nahuatl language. His animal counterpart was the jaguar and his contender was Quetzálcoatl, after which the minor planet 1915 Quetzálcoatl is named. Both deities are Aztec creator gods and were depicted as twin serpents that coil round each other to produce time.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 15 October 1977 (M.P.C. 4237).^[18]

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• 1980 Tezcatlipoca at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 1980 Tezcatlipoca at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 1980 Tezcatlipoca at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters