1685 Toro

1685 Toro
Discovery
Discovered by Carl A. Wirtanen
Discovery date 17 July 1948
Designations
1948 OA
Apollo, Mars crosser
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 1 December 2005 (JD 2453705.5)
Aphelion 1.963 AU
Perihelion 0.771 AU
1.367 AU
Eccentricity 0.436
583.957 d
24.217 km/s
266.113°
Inclination 9.380 °
274.355°
127.037°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 3 km[1]
10.2 h
Albedo 0.31
Spectral type
 S
14.0–14.4

    1685 Toro is an Apollo asteroid that orbits the Sun in a 5:8 resonance with Earth,[2] and near a 5:13 resonance with Venus.

    Toro was discovered by Carl A. Wirtanen at the Lick Observatory in 1948.[1] It was the third Apollo asteroid to be discovered. The name honours Betulia Toro, wife of the astronomer Samuel Herrick. Herrick had studied the asteroid's orbit, and requested the name, along with that of 1580 Betulia.[3][4]

    Based on orbital paths, 1685 Toro is the best candidate for the source of the Sylacauga meteorite, the first meteorite authenticated to have struck a human, Mrs. Ann Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama on 30 November 1954.[5]

    1685 Toro is reported to be an S-type asteroid composed of L chondrite.[6]

    Toro's Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.0509 AU (7,610,000 km; 4,730,000 mi),[7] is just above the 0.05-AU requirement to be listed as a potentially hazardous asteroid. With an orbital uncertainty of 0, its orbit and future close approaches are well determined.[7]

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Waldemar Kaempffert (26 December 1948). "Science in Review: Research Work in Astronomy and Cancer Lead Year's List of Scientific Developments". The New York Times. p. 87. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
    2. ↑ Danielsson, L.; Ip, W.-H. (1972-05-26). "Capture Resonance of the Asteroid 1685 Toro by the Earth". Science 176 (4037): 906–907. Bibcode:1972Sci...176..906D. doi:10.1126/science.176.4037.906. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
    3. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names: Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2006–2008. Berlin: Springer Berlin. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
    4. ↑ University of California, Samuel Herrick, Engineering; Astronomy: Los Angeles
    5. ↑ H. Povenmire. The Sylacauga, Alabama Meteorite: The Impact Locations, Atmosphere Trajectory, Strewn Field and Radiant. H.Povenmire. Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, volume 26, page 1133, (1995)
    6. ↑ Hartmann, W. K. (2005). Moons & Planets (5th ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Brooks/Cole.
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1685 Toro (1948 OA)" (2013-09-01 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2014-02-02.

    External links