2054 Gawain
| 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 | 2054 Gawain |
Named after | Gawain[2] |
| 4097 P–L · 1973 FG1 | |
| main-belt | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 60.95 yr (22261 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2601 AU (487.70 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.6705 AU (399.50 Gm) |
| 2.9653 AU (443.60 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.099430 |
| 5.11 yr (1865.1 d) | |
| 199.56° | |
| 0° 11m 34.872s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.7892° |
| 293.27° | |
| 183.90° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.68665 AU (252.319 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.82908 AU (273.626 Gm) |
| Jupiter Tisserand parameter | 3.254 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 20 km |
Mean radius | 10 km |
| 11.1098 h (0.46291 d) | |
| 0.0697 ± 0.017 | |
| 12.5 | |
|
| |
2054 Gawain, also designated 4097 P–L, is a asteroid from the asteroid belt about 20 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on September 24, 1960 by astronomers Cornelis van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory, San Diego, California.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.3 AU once every 5.11 years (1865 days). It has a rotation period of 11.1 hours and a rather low geometric albedo of 0.07.[1]
The asteroid was named after the figure Gawain, King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend.[2]
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.
References
- 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2054 Gawain (4097 P-L)" (2015-06-14 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2054) Gawain. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 166. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved October 2015.
- Behrend, R. (2001) Observatoire de Geneve web site, http://obswww.unige.ch/~behrend/page_cou.html
External links
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- 2054 Gawain at the JPL Small-Body Database
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