Discovered by G. Reiss MPC designation 1213 Algeria Alternative names 1931 XD Discovered 5 December 1931 Orbits Sun Discovery site Algiers Observatory | Discovery date 5 December 1931 Named after Algeria (country) Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Absolute magnitude 10.8 Discoverer Guy Reiss Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
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1213 Algeria, provisional designation 1931 XD, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 32 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by French astronomer Guy Reiss at the North African Algiers Observatory on 5 December 1931. Three nights later, the body was independently discovered by Belgian–American astronomer George Van Biesbroeck at Williams Bay in the U.S state of Wisconsin.
The dark C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,035 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was taken at Yerkes Observatory, extending the Algeria's observation arc by just 16 days prior to its discovery.
A rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by French amateur astronomer Claudine Rinner in August 2002. The light-curve gave a longer-than-average rotation period of 16 hours with a brightness variation of 0.19 in magnitude (U=2).
According to the space-based 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, Algeria measures between 29.2 and 34.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo in the range of 0.057 to 0.093. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.059 and a diameter of 33.1 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.1.
The minor planet was named in honour of the North African country Algeria, location of the discovering observatory and a French colony at the time. Naming citation was published before 1977 (M.P.C. H 112).