asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
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and the parent body of the
Tirela family
An asteroid family is a population of asteroids that share similar proper orbital elements, such as semimajor axis, eccentricity, and orbital inclination. The members of the families are thought to be fragments of past asteroid collisions. An ...
, located in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 17 November 1936, by French astronomer Louis Boyer at the Algiers Observatory in North Africa. The asteroid has a
rotation period
The rotation period of a celestial object (e.g., star, gas giant, planet, moon, asteroid) may refer to its sidereal rotation period, i.e. the time that the object takes to complete a single revolution around its axis of rotation relative to the ...
of 13.4 hours and measures approximately in diameter. It was named after Charles Tirel, a friend of the discoverer.
Orbit and classification
''Tirela'' is the parent body of the
Tirela family
An asteroid family is a population of asteroids that share similar proper orbital elements, such as semimajor axis, eccentricity, and orbital inclination. The members of the families are thought to be fragments of past asteroid collisions. An ...
, a fairly large
asteroid family
An asteroid family is a population of asteroids that share similar proper orbital elements, such as semimajor axis, eccentricity, and orbital inclination. The members of the families are thought to be fragments of past asteroid collisions. An a ...
, also known as the Klumpkea family, after its largest member 1040 Klumpkea. It orbits the Sun in the