Discovered by E. L. Johnson MPC designation 1922 Zulu Alternative names 1949 HC Discovered 25 April 1949 Orbits Sun | Discovery date 25 April 1949 Named after Zulu (tribe) Minor planet category main-belt (outer) Inclination 35.436° Discoverer Ernest Leonard Johnson Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Similar Asteroid belt, Sun, 1580 Betulia | ||
1922 Zulu, provisional designation 1949 HC, is an outer main-belt asteroid discovered on April 25, 1949, by Ernest Leonard Johnson at Johannesburg Union Observatory in South Africa. It is one of very few asteroids located in the 2 : 1 mean motion resonance with Jupiter. This asteroid was lost shortly after discovery (see Lost asteroid), and only rediscovered in 1974 by Richard Eugene McCrosky, Cheng-yuan Shao and JH Bulger based on a predicted position by C. M. Bardwell of the Cincinnati Observatory. It is quite highly inclined for asteroids in the asteroid belt, with an inclination of 35.4 degrees. This may be related to its 2:1 resonance with Jupiter.
The asteroid is named after the South African tribe, Zulu, to recognize some of the tribesmen who were faithful workmen at the Johannesburg Union Observatory. It is closely related to 1362 Griqua and 1921 Pala, which also received tribal name and librate in the 2:1 ratio of Jupiter's mean motion as well.