2173 Maresjev

2173 Maresjev
Discovery and designation
Discovered by L. V. Zhuravleva
Discovery site Crimean Astrophysical Observatory
Discovery date August 22, 1974
Designations
Named after
Alexey Maresyev
1974 QG1; 1933 FN; 1938 DD2; 1963 SW; 1968 OM; 1974 RZ1; 1974 TG
Orbital characteristics
Epoch January 4, 2010
Aphelion 3.5056494
Perihelion 2.7679568
Eccentricity 0.1175867
period
39.44163
Inclination 14.40858
174.81147
162.48999
Physical characteristics
11.4

    2173 Maresjev is a Main-belt asteroid that was discovered August 22, 1974 by L. V. Zhuravleva at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. Its diameter is 17 km.

    It was named in honor of Alexej Petrovich Maresjev, the protagonist in the novel Story about a True Man (also translated as Story of a Real Man) by Boris Polevoi.[1] [2] The story, which was based on actual events, was an immensely popular Russian book that was eventually made into an opera. It was first published in English in 1952, and was reprinted in 1970.

    The asteroid was scheduled to occult a 9.5 magnitude star in the Taurus constellation November 27, 2008 for a period of 1.3 seconds. During the event, their combined light was to drop to 16.0 magnitude, which is the magnitude of the asteroid.[3]

    Zhuravleva is ranked 43 in Harvard's ranking of those who discovered minor planets. She discovered 200 such bodies, 13 of which were co-discoveries, between 1972 and 1992.[4]

    References

    1. 2173 Maresjev at the JPL Small-Body Database
    2. Kaganovsky, Lilya. “How the Soviet Man Was (Un)Made,” Slavic Review, Vol. 63, No. 3. (Autumn, 2004), pp. 577-596.
    3. http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2008_11/1127_2173_14574_Summary.txt
    4. Minor Planet Discoverers