Wikipedia:WikiProject Astronomical objects/Infoboxes small solar system bodies

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[edit] Minor planets (asteroids, comets, Kuiperoids, etc)

{{minor planet}}

{{Minor Planet}}

Template:Minor planet

14 Irene Discovery A Discoverer John Russell Hind Discovery date May 19, 1851 Alternate designations B A906 QC; A913 EA; 1952 TM Category Main belt Orbital elements C Epoch July 14, 2004 (JD 2453200.5) Eccentricity (e) 0.168 Semi-major axis (a) 386.730 Gm (2.585 AU) Perihelion (q) 321.602 Gm (2.150 AU) Aphelion (Q) 451.858 Gm (3.020 AU) Orbital period (P) 1518.176 d (4.16 a) Mean orbital speed 18.52 km/s Inclination (i) 9.106° Longitude of the ascending node (Ω) 86.493° Argument of perihelion (ω) 96.473° Mean anomaly (M) 326.489° Physical characteristics D Dimensions 181.8 km [1] Mass 6.3×1018 kg Density 2 ? g/cm³ Surface gravity 0.051 m/s² Escape velocity 0.096 km/s Rotation period 0.6275 d [2] Spectral class S-type asteroid [3] Absolute magnitude 6.30 Albedo (geometric) 0.160 [4] Mean surface temperature ~234 K This box: view • talk • edit

The example on the far right is the recommended table format for minor planets —note the recommended unit links. It is generated by the {{Minor Planet}} template. The template has an optional astron argument whose default value is helion; this allows its use to describe asteroid moons, as in the S/2000 (1998 WW₃₁) 1 example.

Urhixidur wrote a nifty Windows tool that can greatly facilitate preparation of these. The most recent version can be downloaded from http://www.bigfoot.com/~D.U.Thibault (at the bottom of the page, under the heading "Delphi 7 and Wikipedia").

A more compact form of this with just the orbital elements is on the near right {{Minor planet}} (note the lower case 'p'). The two are incompatible at the moment, something which Nicholas intends to fix one day.

A few short-hand templates are useful when dealing with asteroids with provisional designations. They are Template:mp, Template:mpl, and Template:mpl-. Mpl ("minor planet link") is used to write a link, like so {{mpl|(15874) 1996 TL|66}} = (15874) 1996 TL₆₆, whilst mp ("minor planet") saves you from typing  if you'd rather not: {{mp|(15874) 1996 TL|66}} = (15874) 1996 TL₆₆. Mpl- is used with numbered asteroids that have kept (so far) their provisional designations: {{mpl-|15760|1992 QB|1}} = 1992 QB₁ instead of (15760) 1992 QB₁.

[edit] Footers

• Template:MinorPlanets Footer - Minor planets
  • Template:MinorPlanets Navigator - Minor planet sequential navigator
  • Template:PeriodicComets Navigator - Periodic comet sequential navigator
  • Template:Footer TransNeptunian - Large Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)
    • Template:TNO - Small list of TNO-related topics

Particularly useful are {{MinorPlanets Navigator}} and {{MinorPlanets Footer}}. Scroll down beyond the table to the right to see examples of these.

Minor planets
Previous minor planet	14 Irene	Next minor planet
List of asteroids

[edit] Comets

9P/Tempel; Tempel 1

Nucleus imaged by the Deep Impact impactor
Discovery
Discovered by:	Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel
Discovery date:	April 3, 1867
Alternate designations:	9P/1867 G1; 1867 II; 9P/1873 G1; 1873 I; 1873a 1879 III; 1879b 9P/1967 L1; 1966 VII 9P/1972 A1; 1972 V; 1972a 1978 II; 1977i 1983 XI; 1982j 1989 I; 1987e1 1994 XIX; 1993c
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch:	March 6, 2006
Aphelion distance:	4.737 AU
Perihelion distance:	1.506 AU
Semi-major axis:	3.122 AU
Eccentricity:	0.5175
Orbital period:	5.515 a
Inclination:	10.5301°
Last perihelion:	July 5, 2005
Next perihelion (predicted):	2011

As discussed above, comets might be served better by a different template. Here is a suggestion for {{Comet}} we can toy with until we are happy with it. Awolf002 00:23, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

Comets
Previous periodic comet	9P/Tempel	Next periodic comet
List of periodic comets