1776 Kuiper, provisional designation , is a dark Eoan
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
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from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 38 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 24 September 1960, by Dutch astronomer couple
Ingrid
Ingrid may refer to:
* Ingrid (given name)
* Ingrid (record label), and artist collective
* Ingrid Burley, rapper known mononymously as Ingrid
* Tropical Storm Ingrid, various cyclones
* 1026 Ingrid, an asteroid
* InGrid, the grid computing project ...
Tom Gehrels
Anton M.J. "Tom" Gehrels (February 21, 1925 – July 11, 2011) was a Dutch–American astronomer, Professor of Planetary Sciences, and Astronomer at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
Biography
Youth and education
Gehrels was born at Haa ...
at the U.S.
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...
in California, and named after Dutch astronomer Gerard Kuiper.
Orbit and classification
''Kuiper'' is a member of the
Eos family The Eos family (''adj. Eoan'' ; ) is a very large asteroid family located in the outer region of the asteroid belt. The family of K-type asteroids is believed to have formed as a result of an ancient catastrophic collision. The family's parent body ...
(), the largest
asteroid family
An asteroid family is a population of asteroids that share similar proper orbital elements, such as semimajor axis, eccentricity, and orbital inclination. The members of the families are thought to be fragments of past asteroid collisions. An a ...
in the outer main belt consisting of nearly 10,000 asteroids. It orbits the Sun in the