Discovered by C. Jackson Discovered 22 July 1935 Discovery site Union Observatory | Discovery date 22 July 1935 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Alternative names 1935 OC · A903 UEA917 HA Observation arc 112.63 yr (41,139 days) Named after Prieska (South African town) | ||
1359 Prieska, provisional designation 1935 OC, is a rare-type carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 50 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 July 1935, by English-born South-African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa.
Prieska is a dark C-type asteroid and classified as a rather rare CX:-subtype in the Tholen taxonomy (also see list of CX-type asteroids). It orbits orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.9–3.3 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (2,012 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic. In 1903, Prieska was first identified as A903 UE at Heidelberg Observatory, extending the body's observation arc by 32 years prior to its official discovery at Johannesburg.
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Prieska measures between 36.45 and 65.86 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.03 and 0.07. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0494 and a diameter of 52.07 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 10.3. As of 2017, the body's rotation period remains unknown.
This minor planet was named for the South African town of Prieska, located on the south bank of the Orange River, in the province of the Northern Cape. Naming citation was first mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 123).