886 Washingtonia

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.

886 Washingtonia
Discovery
Discovered byGeorge Henry Peters
Discovery siteWashington, D.C.
Discovery date16 November 1917
Designations
(886) Washingtonia
1917 b
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc105.87 yr (38670 days)
Aphelion4.0269 AU (602.42 Gm)
Perihelion2.3205 AU (347.14 Gm)
3.1737 AU (474.78 Gm)
Eccentricity0.26882
5.65 yr (2065.1 d)
217.593°
0° 10m 27.552s / day
Inclination16.846°
58.918°
301.838°
Earth MOID1.36733 AU (204.550 Gm)
Jupiter MOID1.67995 AU (251.317 Gm)
TJupiter3.079
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
45.28±6.3 km
9.001 h (0.3750 d)
0.0713±0.025
9.3

    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".[2] The first woman to be credited with the discovery of a minor planet was Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn, eleven years later.

    References

    1. "886 Washingtonia (1917 b)". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
    2. Murdin, Paul (2016), Rock Legends - The Asteroids and Their Discoverers, Springer, p. 84


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