886 Washingtonia
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | George Henry Peters |
| Discovery site | Washington, D.C. |
| Discovery date | 16 November 1917 |
| Designations | |
| (886) Washingtonia | |
| 1917 b | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 105.87 yr (38670 days) |
| Aphelion | 4.0269 AU (602.42 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.3205 AU (347.14 Gm) |
| 3.1737 AU (474.78 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.26882 |
| 5.65 yr (2065.1 d) | |
| 217.593° | |
| 0° 10m 27.552s / day | |
| Inclination | 16.846° |
| 58.918° | |
| 301.838° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.36733 AU (204.550 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.67995 AU (251.317 Gm) |
| TJupiter | 3.079 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 45.28±6.3 km | |
| 9.001 h (0.3750 d) | |
| 0.0713±0.025 | |
| 12.5[2] to 16.5 | |
| 9.3 | |
886 Washingtonia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on 16 November 1917, from Washington, D.C., and is named after the 1st President of the United States, George Washington. Washingtonia may be a "fresh asteroid" that had its surface refreshed within the last 10 million years via collision(s).[3]
Discovery circumstances
Credit for the discovery of 886 Washingtonia has been given to George Peters of the US Naval Observatory, who was the first to report it. The object was, however, observed four days earlier by Margaret Harwood, who was advised not to report it as a new discovery because "it was inappropriate that a woman should be thrust into the limelight with such a claim".[4] The first woman to be credited with the discovery of a minor planet was Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn, eleven years later.
References
- ^ "886 Washingtonia (1917 b)". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Perihelic opposition (2026–2050)
- ^ Lauren Sgro (21 January 2026). "2025 in Citizen Science – The Biggest Year Yet!". Unistellar/SETI. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ Murdin, Paul (2016), Rock Legends - The Asteroids and Their Discoverers, Springer, p. 84
External links
- Lightcurve plot of 886 Washingtonia, Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2003)
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 886 Washingtonia at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 886 Washingtonia at the JPL Small-Body Database