| Minorplanet: | yes |
| 2013 Tucapel | |
| Background: |
|
| Discovered: | 22 October 1971 |
| Discoverer: | University of Chile |
| Mpc Name: | (2013) Tucapel |
| Alt Names: | 1936 PL 1940 XC 1969 AT 1974 MM1974 NA 1974 OJ |
| Epoch: | 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Observation Arc: | 76.32 yr (27,876 days) |
| Perihelion: | 1.7714 AU |
| Semimajor: | 2.2894 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.2263 |
| Period: | 3.46 yr (1,265 days) |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Inclination: | 7.5036° |
| Asc Node: | 96.545° |
| Arg Peri: | 238.12° |
| Dimensions: | km km 11.84 km km km |
| Albedo: | 0.24 |
| Abs Magnitude: | 11.7011.812.6 |
2013 Tucapel, provisional designation, 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. It was named for one of the indigenous Mapuche chiefs.
Tucapel is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,265 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.
It was first observed as at Johannesburg Observatory in 1936. Its first used observation was taken at Turku Observatory in 1942, when it was identified as, thereby extending the body's observation arc by 29 years prior to its official discovery observation at Cerro El Roble.
Tucapel has been characterized as a common S-type asteroid.
In October 2009, a rotational lightcurve of Tucapel was obtained from photometric observations at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory in Australia. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 9.028 hours with a brightness variation of 0.34 magnitude .
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Tucapel measures between 10.61 and 12.685 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.1003 and 0.328. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 — derived from 8 Flora, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 11.84 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 11.8.
This minor planet was 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). The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 June 1980 .