3868 Mendoza

3868 Mendoza
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Palomar–Leiden survey
C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-Groeneveld
T. Gehrels
Discovery site Palomar Obs.
Discovery date 24 September 1960
Designations
MPC designation 3868 Mendoza
Named after
Eugenio Mendoza[2]
4575 P-L; 1935 SA1
1952 HV3; 1953 TD2
1977 KD1
main-belt
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 22805 days (62.44 yr)
Aphelion 2.5644 AU (383.63 Gm)
Perihelion 2.1051 AU (314.92 Gm)
2.3348 AU (349.28 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.098367
3.57 yr (1303.1 d)
187.57°
 16m 34.572s / day
Inclination 8.1072°
171.57°
186.06°
Earth MOID 1.0989 AU (164.39 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 2.83421 AU (423.992 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.549
Physical characteristics
2.77090 h (0.115454 d)
12.5

    3868 Mendoza (4575 P-L) is a main-belt binary asteroid discovered on September 24, 1960 by Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory. In 2009, a moon was discovered, 2.01±0.18 km in diameter, orbiting the asteroid in a little more than a day.[3]

    The designation P–L stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, the observatories which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's 48-inch Samuel Oschin 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.

    It was named in honor of Eugenio Mendoza, astronomer, expert in photometry and spectroscopy, member of the IAU and teacher at several Mexican universities.[2][4]

    References

    1. 1 2 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3868 Mendoza (4575 P-L)" (2015-03-16 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
    2. 1 2 "Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3868) Mendoza". Springer Berlin Heidelberg. 2007. p. 328. Retrieved October 2015.
    3. Johnston, Robert. "(3868) Mendoza". johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
    4. "V. Eugenio E. Mendoza". International Astronomical Union. January 2015. Retrieved October 2015.

    External links


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