1620 Geographos

1620 Geographos

A three-dimensional model of 1620 Geographos based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered by Albert George Wilson, Rudolph Minkowski
Discovery date 14 September 1951
Designations
Named after
 National Geographic Society
1951 RA
Apollo, PHA,[1] Mars-crosser
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 23558 days (64.50 yr)
Aphelion 1.6630 AU (248.78 Gm)
Perihelion 0.82764 AU (123.813 Gm)
1.2453 AU (186.29 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.33541
1.39 yr (507.61 d)
25.92 km/s
180.473°
0.70920°/day
Inclination 13.338°
337.216°
276.879°
Earth MOID 0.029311 AU (4.3849 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 3.45265 AU (516.509 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 5.0×2.0×2.1 ± 0.15km[1]
Mean radius
 1.28 ± 0.075 km
5.22204 h (0.217585 d)[1]
0.3258 ± 0.051[1]
Temperature ~249 K
S[1]
15.60[1]

    The asteroid 1620 Geographos /dʒiːoʊˈɡræfɒs/ was discovered on September 14, 1951, at the Palomar Observatory by Albert George Wilson and Rudolph Minkowski. It was originally given the provisional designation 1951 RA. Its name, a Greek word meaning "geographer" (geo– 'Earth' + graphos 'drawer/writer'), was chosen to honour geographers and the National Geographic Society.

    Geographos is a Mars-crosser asteroid and a near-Earth object belonging to the Apollos. In 1994, during the asteroid's closest approach to Earth in two centuries at 5.0 Gm-which will not be bettered until 2586- a radar study of it was conducted by the Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California. The resultant images show Geographos to be the most elongated object in the solar system; it measures 5.1×1.8 km.

    Geographos is an S-type asteroid, meaning that it is highly reflective and composed of nickel-iron mixed with iron- and magnesium-silicates.

    Geographos was to be explored by the U.S.'s Clementine mission; however, a malfunctioning thruster ended the mission before it could approach the asteroid.

    1620 Geographos is a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) because its minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) is less than 0.05 AU and its diameter is greater than 150 meters. The Earth-MOID is 0.0304 AU (4,550,000 km; 2,830,000 mi).[1] Its orbit is well-determined for the next several hundred years.

    3D computer model of the different faces of Geographos. Image by Scott Hudson

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1620 Geographos (1951 RA)". Retrieved 26 March 2016.

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.