1809 Prometheus
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by |
Palomar–Leiden survey C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 1809 Prometheus |
Named after |
Prometheus (mythology)[2] |
|
2522 P–L · 1943 EA1 1955 SW · 1955 VA 1965 UR | |
| main-belt | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 60.09 yr (21,948 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2274 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6258 AU |
| 2.9266 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1027 |
| 5.01 yr (1,829 days) | |
| 5.6897° | |
| Inclination | 3.2581° |
| 99.490° | |
| 231.65° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 11.7 | |
|
| |
1809 Prometheus, also designated 2522 P–L, is an asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on September 24, 1960 by the Dutch astronomer couple Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden, on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar, San Diego County, California.[3]
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.6–3.2 AU once every 5 years (1,829 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and is tilted by 3.3 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic.[1] Little is known about the asteroids size, composition, albedo and rotation, despite having a well-observed orbit with the lowest possible uncertainty of 0 and an observation arc that spans over a time period of more than 60 years.[1]
The designation P–L stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden Observatory. The trio are credited with several thousand asteroid discoveries.
The asteroid is named after Prometheus, a Titan of a Greek saga, who stole the fire from the gods. The name has also been given to a moon of Saturn, Prometheus (moon), discovered by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1980.[2] The minor planet 1810 Epimetheus is named after his brother.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1809 Prometheus (2522 P-L)" (2015-10-21 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved November 2015.
- 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1809) Prometheus. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 145. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved November 2015.
- ↑ "1809 Prometheus (2522 P-L)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved November 2015.
External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Geneve, Raoul Behrend
- 1809 Prometheus at the JPL Small-Body Database
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