Discovery date 22 October 1971 Discovered 22 October 1971 Discoverer Carlos Torres Discovery site Cerro El Roble Station | MPC designation 2013 Tucapel Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
Alternative names 1971 UH4 · 1936 PL1940 XC · 1942 EP11950 TP2 · 1969 AT1974 MM · 1974 NA1974 OJ Similar Sun, 8 Flora, 9917 Keynes | ||
2013 Tucapel, provisional designation 1971 UH4, is an eccentric Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 October 1971, by the University of Chile's National Astronomical Observatory at Cerro El Roble Astronomical Station.
The stony S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,266 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic. It has a rotation period of 9.028 hours and an albedo in the range of 0.11–0.32, according to the surveys carried out by Akari and WISE/NEOWISE.
Named for one of the brave chiefs of the Mapuche, indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, who, with his wife Gualeva, victoriously entered the city of Imperial. He died in 1560, fighting against the colonial Spaniards (also see Arauco War, Battle of Tucapel and Lautaro). Naming citation was published on 1 June 1980 (M.P.C. 5359).