(8437) Bernicla

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asteroid
(8437) Bernicla
Properties of the orbit ( animation )
Epoch:  4th November 2013 ( JD 2,456,600.5)
Orbit type Middle main belt asteroid
Major semi-axis 2.5282  AU
eccentricity 0.0432
Perihelion - aphelion 2.4190 AU - 2.6373 AU
Inclination of the orbit plane 2.4482 °
Length of the ascending node 230.6559 °
Argument of the periapsis 40.3542 °
Sidereal period 4.02 a
Mean orbital velocity 18.73 km / s
Physical Properties
Absolute brightness 14.8 mag
history
Explorer Cornelis Johannes van Houten ,
Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld ,
Tom Gehrels
Date of discovery March 26, 1971
Another name 3057 T-1 , 1977 XA 3 , 1991 EK 7
Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . The affiliation to an asteroid family is automatically determined from the AstDyS-2 database . Please also note the note on asteroid items.

(8437) Bernicla is an asteroid of the central main belt , which was discovered on March 26, 1971 by the Dutch astronomer couple Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld . The discovery took place during the 1st Trojan survey, during which Tom Gehrels surveyed field plates recorded by the 120 cm Oschin Schmidt telescope of the Palomar observatory at the University of Leiden , eleven years after the start of the Palomar-Leiden- Surveys .

(8437) Bernicla is named after the Brent Goose , whose scientific name is ( Branta bernicla ). At the time the asteroid was named on February 2, 1999, the Brent goose was a winter guest on the Dutch Blue List of Important Birds, which was published in 1994 together with the Dutch Red List of Endangered Birds. In the publication Birds in Europe by the organization BirdLife International , the Brent goose population was classified as endangered.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Springer, Heidelberg 2012, 6th edition, page 638f (English)