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5380 Sprigg
5380 Sprigg, provisional designation ', is a background asteroid from the middle regions of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 7 May 1991, by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. It was named after Australian geologist Reg Sprigg. Orbit and classification ''Sprigg'' is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,513 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.21 and an inclination of 9 ° with respect to the ecliptic. A first precovery was taken at Palomar Observatory in 1980, extending the body's observation arc by 11 years prior to its official discovery observation at Siding Spring. Naming This minor planet was named after Reg Sprigg (1919–1994), Australian exploration geologist, oceanographer, biologist, author and conservationist. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert McNaught
Robert H. McNaught (born in Scotland in 1956) is a Scottish-Australian astronomer at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University (ANU). He has collaborated with David J. Asher of the Armagh Observatory. The inner main-belt asteroid 3173 McNaught, discovered by Edward Bowell at Anderson Mesa Station in 1981, was named after him by its discoverer, following a suggestion by David Seargent. Work McNaught is a prolific discoverer of asteroids and comets, described as "the world's greatest comet discoverer" and he participated in the Siding Spring Survey (SSS) using the ANU's Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope. He discovered the Great Comet C/2006 P1 on 7 August 2006, the brightest comet in several decades, which became easily visible to the naked eye for observers in the Southern Hemisphere. The SSS was the only active professional Near Earth Object survey in the Southern Hemisphere. The survey ended in 2013 after funding dried up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |