It was discovered on 17 September 1938, by German astronomer Alfred Bohrmann at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.
[12] In September 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Carla was obtained from photometric observations by astronomer Frederick Pilcher at Organ Mesa Observatory (G50) near Las Cruces, New Mexico.
[9] in 2014, two additional lightcurves in the R-band, obtained at the Palomar Transient Factory, California, gave a period of 6.15 and 6.154 hours with an amplitude of 0.24 and 0.25, respectively (U=2/2).
[8][10] According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Carla measures between 31.66 and 36.97 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.051 and 0.062.
[3] This minor planet was named in honor of Carla Ziegler, a friend of the Bohrmann family at Heidelberg.