Mombasa Kenya, it also is the home of one of the State House (Kenya), and is considered by some as a second capital in all but name. In Mombasa County and the former Coast Province, Mombasa's situation on the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading center, and it has been controlled by many countries because of its strategic location. Mombasa city has a population of about 939,000 per the 2009 census. It is located on Mombasa Island and sprawls to the surrounding mainlands. The island is separated from the mainland by two creeks: Tudor Creek and Kilindini Harbour. It is
1428 Mombasa years prior to its official discovery at Johannesburg. American astronomer Robert Stephens obtained a rotational lightcurve of "Mombasa" in June 2012. Light-curve analysis gave a rotation period of 16.67 hours with a brightness variation of 0.16 magnitude (). Previous lightcurves were obtained by French amateur astronomer René Roy in February 2006 (17.6 hours, Δ0.15 mag; ), as well as by Scot Hawkins and Richard Ditteon at Oakley Observatory in May 2007 (17.12 hours, Δ0.25 mag; ). On the SMASS taxonomic scheme, "Mombasa" is a , an intermediate between the carbonaceous C and X-type, while it is also described as a