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1039 Sonneberga
1039 Sonneberga, provisional designation , is a dark background asteroid, approximately in diameter, located in the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 24 November 1924, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The asteroid was named for the German city of Sonneberg, where the Sonneberg Observatory is located. Orbit and classification ''Sonneberga'' orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.5–2.8 AU once every 4 years and 5 months (1,603 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 5 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation, as no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made. Naming This minor planet was named for the city of Sonneberg, Thuringia in Germany and location of the Sonneberg Observatory. It was founded in 1925 by astronomer Cuno Hoffmeister after whom the minor planets 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lightcurve
In astronomy, a light curve is a graph (discrete mathematics), graph of the Radiance, light intensity of a celestial object or region as a function of time, typically with the magnitude (astronomy), magnitude of light received on the ''y''-axis and with time on the ''x''-axis. The light is usually in a particular frequency interval or frequency band, band. Light curves can be periodic, as in the case of eclipsing binary, eclipsing binaries, Cepheid variables, other periodic variables, and Methods of detecting extrasolar planets#Transit photometry, transiting extrasolar planets; or aperiodic, like the light curve of a nova, cataclysmic variable star, supernova, gravitational microlensing, microlensing event, or binary as observed during occultation events. The study of a light curve and other observations can yield considerable information about the physical process that produces such a light curve, or constrain the physical theories about it. Variable stars Graphs of the ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asteroid Belt
The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. The identified objects are of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, and, on average, are about one million kilometers (or six hundred thousand miles) apart. This asteroid belt is also called the main asteroid belt or main belt to distinguish it from other asteroid populations in the Solar System. The asteroid belt is the smallest and innermost circumstellar disc in the Solar System. Classes of Small Solar System body, small Solar System bodies in other regions are the near-Earth objects, the Centaur (minor planet), centaurs, the Kuiper belt objects, the scattered disc objects, the sednoids, and the Oort cloud objects. About 60% of the main belt mass is contained in the four largest asteroids: Ceres (dwarf planet), C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herget's Discovery Circumstances
Paul Herget (January 30, 1908 – August 27, 1981) was an American astronomer and director of the Cincinnati Observatory, who established the Minor Planet Center after World War II. Career Herget taught astronomy at the University of Cincinnati. He was a pioneer in the use of machine methods, and eventually digital computers, in the solving of scientific and specifically astronomical problems (for example, in the calculation of ephemeris tables for minor planets). During World War II he applied these same talents to the war effort, helping to locate U-boats by means of the application of spherical trigonometry. Herget established the Minor Planet Center at the university after the war in 1947. He was also named director of the Cincinnati Observatory. The Minor Planet Center was eventually relocated in 1978 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it still operates. Herget is also credited with helping design the shape of the Pringles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4183 Cuno
4183 Cuno, provisional designation , is an eccentric, rare-type asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, and measures approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 5 June 1959, by German astronomer Cuno Hoffmeister at Boyden Observatory in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and later named in the discoverer's honor. Classification and orbit ''Cuno'' orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–3.2 AU once every 2 years and 9 months (1,019 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.63 and an inclination of 7 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its identification as , the first used observation made at Palomar Observatory in 1986, approximately 27 years after its official discovery observation at Boyden. The asteroid has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of , which translates into 11 lunar distances. ''Cuno'' approaches the Earth to within 40 million kilometers six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1726 Hoffmeister
1726 Hoffmeister, provisional designation , is a carbonaceous asteroid and namesake of the Hoffmeister family from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 23 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 July 1933, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany, and named after astronomer Cuno Hoffmeister. Orbit and classification ''Hoffmeister'' is the namesake and lowest-numbered member of the very compact Hoffmeister family (), which, based upon its low albedo, was most likely formed from the breakup of a 50–100 kilometer-sized, carbon-rich parent body within the past several hundred million years. It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.7–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,700 days; semi-major axis of 2.79 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 3 ° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first identified as at the Yerkes Observatory in 1924, ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Erfurt is the capital and largest city. Other cities include Jena, Gera and Weimar. Thuringia is bordered by Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt. It has been known as "the green heart of Germany" () from the late 19th century due to its broad, dense forest. Most of Thuringia is in the Saale drainage basin, a bank (geography), left-bank tributary of the Elbe. Thuringia is home to the Rennsteig, Germany's best-known hiking, hiking trail. Its winter resort of Oberhof, Germany, Oberhof makes it a well-equipped winter sports destination – half of Germany's 136 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympic gold medals had been won by Thuringian athletes as of 2014. Thuringia was favoured by or was the birthplace of three key intellectu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minor Planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor planet'', but that year's meeting IAU definition of planet, reclassified minor planets and comets into dwarf planets and Small Solar System body, small Solar System bodies (SSSBs).Press release, IAU 2006 General Assembly: Result of the IAU Resolution votes International Astronomical Union, August 24, 2006. Accessed May 5, 2008. In contrast to the eight official planets of the Solar System, all minor planets fail to clearing the neighborhood, clear their orbital neighborhood. Minor planets include asteroids (near- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Precoveries
In astronomy, precovery (short for pre-discovery recovery) is the process of finding the image of a celestial object in images or photographic plates predating its discovery, typically for the purpose of calculating a more accurate orbit. This happens most often with minor planets, but sometimes a comet, a dwarf planet, a natural satellite, or a star is found in old archived images; even exoplanet precovery observations have been obtained. "Precovery" refers to a pre-discovery image; "recovery" refers to imaging of a body which was lost to our view (as behind the Sun), but is now visible again ''(also see lost minor planet and lost comet)''. Orbit determination requires measuring an object's position on multiple occasions. The longer the interval between observations, the more accurately the orbit can be calculated; however, for a newly discovered object, only a few days' or weeks' worth of measured positions may be available, sufficient only for a preliminary (imprecise) orbit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observation Arc
In observational astronomy, the observation arc (or arc length) of a Solar System body is the time period between its earliest and latest observations, used for tracing the body's path. It is usually given in days or years. The term is mostly used in the discovery and tracking of asteroids and comets. Arc length has the greatest influence on the accuracy of an orbital estimate. The number, spacing of intermediate observations, and timestamps have a lesser effect. Short arcs A very short arc leaves a high uncertainty parameter. The object might be in one of many different orbits, at many distances from Earth. In some cases, the initial arc was too short to determine if the object was in orbit around the Earth, or orbiting out in the asteroid belt. With a 1-day observation arc, was thought to be a trans-Neptunian dwarf planet, but is now known to be a 1 km main-belt asteroid. With an observation arc of 3 days, was thought to be a Mars-crossing asteroid that could be a thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecliptic
The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of Earth's orbit, Earth around the Sun. It was a central concept in a number of ancient sciences, providing the framework for key measurements in astronomy, astrology and calendar-making. 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 fixed stars, background of stars – specifically the Zodiac constellations. The planets of the Solar System can also be seen along the ecliptic, because their orbital planes are very close to Earth's. The Moon's orbital plane is also similar to Earth's; the ecliptic is so named because the ancients noted that eclipses only occur when the Moon is crossing it. The ecliptic is an important Plane of reference, reference plane and is the basis of the ecliptic coordinate system. Ancient scientists were able to calculate Earth's axial tilt by comparing the ecliptic plane to that of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
