(8766) Niger
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Asteroid (8766) Niger |
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|---|---|
| Properties of the orbit ( animation ) | |
| Orbit type | Main outer belt asteroid |
| Major semi-axis | 3.0571 AU |
| eccentricity | 0.1521 |
| Perihelion - aphelion | 2.5920 AU - 3.5222 AU |
| Inclination of the orbit plane | 1.0875 ° |
| Length of the ascending node | 143.3773 ° |
| Argument of the periapsis | 165.9630 ° |
| Sidereal period | 5.35 a |
| Mean orbital velocity | 17.03 km / s |
| Physical Properties | |
| Absolute brightness | 13.2 mag |
| history | |
| Explorer |
Cornelis Johannes van Houten , Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld , Tom Gehrels |
| Date of discovery | 29th September 1973 |
| Another name | 1304 T-2 , 1968 UG 3 , 1979 YY 4 , 1984 UT 1 |
| 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. | |
(8766) Niger is an asteroid of the main outer belt that was discovered on September 29, 1973 by the Dutch astronomer couple Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld . The discovery was made during the 2nd Trojan survey, during which Tom Gehrels surveyed field plates recorded with the 120 cm Oschin Schmidt telescope of the Palomar observatory at the University of Leiden , 13 years after the start of the Palomar-Leiden- Surveys . An unconfirmed sighting of the asteroid had already occurred on October 26, 1968 with the provisional designation 1968 UG 3 at the Crimean Observatory in Nautschnyj .
(8766) Niger is named after the black tern , whose scientific name is Chlidonias niger . At the time the asteroid was named on February 2, 1999, the Black Tern was on the Dutch Red List of Endangered Birds . Niger Vallis, on the other hand, a valley on Mars , was named after the Niger River in 1991 .
Web links
- (8766) Niger in the database of the "Asteroids - Dynamic Site" (AstDyS-2, English).
- (8766) Niger in the Small-Body Database of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena , California (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Springer, Heidelberg 2003, 5th edition, page 665 (English)
- ↑ The Niger Vallis in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature of the IAU (WGPSN) / USGS