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94 Aurora
94 Aurora is one of the largest main-belt asteroids. With an albedo of only 0.04, it is darker than soot, and has a primitive composition consisting of carbonaceous material. It was discovered by J. C. Watson on September 6, 1867, in Ann Arbor, and named after Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn. This asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.62 years and a relatively low eccentricity of 0.092. It is spinning with a rotation period The rotation period of a celestial object (e.g., star, gas giant, planet, moon, asteroid) may refer to its sidereal rotation period, i.e. the time that the object takes to complete a single revolution around its axis of rotation relative to the ... of 7.22 hours. Observations of an occultation using nine chords indicate an oval outline of 225×173 km. The asteroid's pole of rotation lies just 4–16° away from the plane of the ecliptic. Notes References External links * * Background asteroids ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Craig Watson
James Craig Watson (January 28, 1838 – November 22, 1880) was a Canadian- American astronomer, discoverer of comets and minor planets, director of the University of Michigan's Detroit Observatory in Ann Arbor, and awarded with the Lalande Prize in 1869. Biography Watson was born in the village of Fingal, Ontario Canada. His family relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1850. At age 15 he was matriculated at the University of Michigan, where he studied the classical languages. He graduated with a BA in 1857 and received a master's degree on examination after two years' study in astronomy under professor Franz Brünnow. He became Professor of Physics and instructor in Mathematics, and in 1863, succeeded him as professor of Astronomy and director of the Detroit Observatory. He wrote the textboo''Theoretical Astronomy'' published in 1868 by J. B. Lippincott & Co. The textbook was a standard reference work for over thirty years. He discovered 22 asteroids, beginning with 79 Euryn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orbital Eccentricity
In astrodynamics, the orbital eccentricity of an astronomical object is a dimensionless parameter that determines the amount by which its orbit around another body deviates from a perfect circle. A value of 0 is a circular orbit, values between 0 and 1 form an elliptic orbit, 1 is a parabolic escape orbit (or capture orbit), and greater than 1 is a hyperbola. The term derives its name from the parameters of conic sections, as every Kepler orbit is a conic section. It is normally used for the isolated two-body problem, but extensions exist for objects following a rosette orbit through the Galaxy. Definition In a two-body problem with inverse-square-law force, every orbit is a Kepler orbit. The eccentricity of this Kepler orbit is a non-negative number that defines its shape. The eccentricity may take the following values: * circular orbit: ''e'' = 0 * elliptic orbit: 0 < ''e'' < 1 * |
Astronomical Objects Discovered In 1867
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars. Nowada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C-type Asteroids (SMASS)
C-type (carbonaceous) asteroids are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids. They are volatile-rich and distinguished by a very low albedo because their composition includes a large amount of carbon, in addition to rocks and minerals. Their density averages at about . They occur most frequently at the outer edge of the asteroid belt, 3.5 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, where 80% of the asteroids are of this type, whereas only 40% of asteroids at 2 AU from the Sun are C-type. The proportion of C-types may actually be greater than this, because C-types are much darker (and therefore less detectable) than most other asteroid types except for D-types and others that are mostly at the extreme outer edge of the asteroid belt. Characteristics Asteroids of this class have spectra very similar to those of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites (types CI and CM). The latter are very close in chemical composition to the Sun and the primitive solar nebula minus hyd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Named Minor Planets
Named may refer to something that has been given a name. Named may also refer to: * named (computing), a widely used DNS server * Naming (parliamentary procedure) Naming is a procedure in some Westminster parliaments that provides for the speaker to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct of the legislature. Historically, "naming" refers to the speaker's invocation of ... * The Named (band), an American industrial metal group In literature: * '' The Named'', a fantasy novel by Marianne Curley * The Named, a fictional race of prehistoric big cats, depicted in '' The Books of the Named'' series by Clare Bell See also * Name (other) * Names (other) * Naming (other) {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discoveries By James Craig Watson
Discoveries may refer to: Music * ''Discoveries'' (Cannonball Adderley album), 1955 * ''Discoveries'' (Josh Nelson album), 2011 * ''Discoveries'' (Northlane album), 2011 Other uses * ''Discoveries'' (film), a 1939 British film * Discoveries (horse), a racehorse * ''Discoveries'' (Robertson Davies), a 2002 book by Robertson Davies * ''Discoveries'' (TV series), a Canadian youth science television series which aired on CBC Television in 1957 * ''Abrams Discoveries'', a series of illustrated non-fiction books published by Harry N. Abrams * ''Discoveries'', a work by William Butler Yeats, written in 1907 * ''Discoveries'', a magazine published by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center See also * Age of Discoveries * Discovery (other) Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Disco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Background Asteroids
Background may refer to: Performing arts and stagecraft * Background actor * Background artist * Background light * Background music * Background story * Background vocals * ''Background'' (play), a 1950 play by Warren Chetham-Strode Recorded works * ''Background'' (1953 film), a British drama * ''Background'' (1973 film), a documentary * ''Background'' (TV series), a Canadian journalistic television series * ''Background'' (Lifetime album), 1992 * ''Background'' (Bassi Maestro album), 2002 Science and engineering * Background extinction rate * Background independence, a condition in theoretical physics * Background noise * Background radiation, the natural radiation that is always present in a location ** Background (astronomy), small amounts of light coming from otherwise dark parts of the sky ** Cosmic background (other) ** Gravitational wave background ** X-ray background * Background process, software that is running but not being displayed * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Astronomical Society Of New Zealand
The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) is the New Zealand national astronomical society. It is an association of professional and amateur astronomers with the prime objective to the ''promotion and extension of knowledge of astronomy and related branches of science''. History The society was founded in 1920 as the New Zealand Astronomical Society. In 1946, the society received its Royal Charter and became the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. In 1967, the RASNZ became a member body of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Membership Membership of the society is open to anyone interested in astronomy including affiliated societies such as the Southland Astronomical Society. Currently (2019) the society has around 230 members consisting of professional, student and amateur astronomers. 19 societies are affiliated (2019) with RASNZ and there are two corporate members (2019). Current and past members of note include: * Alan C. Gilmore * Albert F. A. L. J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plane Of The Ecliptic
The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic against the background of stars. The ecliptic is an important reference plane and is the basis of the ecliptic coordinate system. Sun's apparent motion The ecliptic is the apparent path of the Sun throughout the course of a year. Because Earth takes one year to orbit the Sun, the apparent position of the Sun takes one year to make a complete circuit of the ecliptic. With slightly more than 365 days in one year, the Sun moves a little less than 1° eastward every day. This small difference in the Sun's position against the stars causes any particular spot on Earth's surface to catch up with (and stand directly north or south of) the Sun about four minutes later each day than it would if Earth did not orbit; a day on Earth is therefore 24 hour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poles Of Astronomical Bodies
The poles of astronomical bodies are determined based on their axis of rotation in relation to the celestial poles of the celestial sphere. Astronomical bodies include stars, planets, dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies such as comets and minor planets (e.g., asteroids), as well as natural satellites and minor-planet moons. Poles of rotation The International Astronomical Union (IAU) defines the north pole of a planet or any of its satellites in the Solar System as the planetary pole that is in the same celestial hemisphere, relative to the invariable plane of the Solar System, as Earth's north pole. This definition is independent of the object's direction of rotation about its axis. This implies that an object's direction of rotation, when viewed from above its north pole, may be either clockwise or counterclockwise. The direction of rotation exhibited by most objects in the solar system (including Sun and Earth) is counterclockwise. Venus rotates clockwise, and Ura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oval
An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or two axes of symmetry of an ellipse. In common English, the term is used in a broader sense: any shape which reminds one of an egg. The three-dimensional version of an oval is called an ovoid. Oval in geometry The term oval when used to describe curves in geometry is not well-defined, except in the context of projective geometry. Many distinct curves are commonly called ovals or are said to have an "oval shape". Generally, to be called an oval, a plane curve should ''resemble'' the outline of an egg or an ellipse. In particular, these are common traits of ovals: * they are differentiable (smooth-looking), simple (not self-intersecting), convex, closed, plane curves; * their shape does not depart much from that of an ellipse, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
