| Minorplanet: | yes |
| Background: |
|
| 131 Vala | |
| Discovered: | 24 May 1873 |
| Mpc Name: | (131) Vala |
| Alt Names: | A873 KA; 1945 KA; ; 1953 QE |
| Epoch: | 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) |
| Semimajor: | 2.43198AU |
| Perihelion: | 2.26604AU |
| Aphelion: | 2.5979AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.068233 |
| Period: | 1385.3days |
| Inclination: | 4.9602° |
| Asc Node: | 65.682° |
| Arg Peri: | 160.641° |
| Avg Speed: | 19.08 km/s |
| Mass: | 6.9 kg |
| Surface Grav: | 0.0113 m/s² |
| Escape Velocity: | 0.0214 km/s |
| Rotation: | 5.1812abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Spectral Type: | K (Bus) |
| Abs Magnitude: | 10.03 |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Observation Arc: | 142.88 yr (52187 d) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Moid: | 1.25637AU |
| Jupiter Moid: | 2.37651AU |
| Tisserand: | 3.499 |
| Named After: | vǫlva |
131 Vala is an inner main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on 24 May 1873, and derives its name from völva (vǫlva,), a prophetess in Norse paganism. One observation of an occultation of a star by Vala is from Italy (26 May 2002). 10-μm radiometric data collected from Kitt Peak in 1975 gave a diameter estimate of 34 km.
In the Tholen classification system, it is categorized as an SU-type asteroid, while the Bus asteroid taxonomy system lists it as a K-type asteroid. Photometric observations of this asteroid during 2007 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico were used to create a "nearly symmetric bimodal" light curve plot. This showed a rotation period of 10.359 ± 0.001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.09 ± 0.02 magnitude during each cycle. The result is double the 5.18-hour period reported in the JPL Small-Body Database.
On 2028-Apr-05, Vala will pass 0.0276abbr=onNaNabbr=on from asteroid 2 Pallas.