18610 Arthurdent

Asteroid October 2019 yes 18610 Arthurdent #D6D6D6 7 February 1998 Starkenburg Obs. Starkenburg Obs. (18610) Arthurdent 1998 CC 21990 EG 3 Arthur Dent (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) main-belt(middle) 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) 0 28.06 yr (10,248 days) 3.0932 AU 2.0018 AU 2.5475 AU 0.2142 4.07 yr (1,485 days) 321.77° 0.2424 ms / day 5.5878° 319.49° 139.42° 3 km (est. at 0.25)3.463 0.055 km 0.234 0.020 14.4 18610 Arthurdent (provisional designation 1998 CC 2) is an asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 February 1998, by a team of astronomers including Felix Hormuth at Starkenburg Observatory in Heppenheim, Germany. The asteroid was named after Arthur Dent from Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Orbit and classification Arthurdent orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.0–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,485 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.21 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. The first known precovery image was taken during the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) at Palomar Observatory in 1988, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation. Physical characteristics Diameter and albedo According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Arthurdent measures 3.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.234. This agrees with a generic absolute magnitude-to-diameter conversion for a silicaceous asteroid (albedo of 0.25), which gives a diameter of approximately 3 kilometers for an absolute magnitude of 14.3. Rotation period As of 2017, the Arthurdent's composition, rotation period and shape remain unknown. Naming This minor planet was named after Arthur Dent, the bewildered hero of Douglas Adams's radio play and book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The naming of the asteroid was announced by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) in its Minor Planet Circular on 9 May 2001 (M.P.C. 42677). Two days later, Adams died of a heart attack in Santa Barbara, California. Coincidence with death The near coincidence of these events led to some media reports of the asteroid naming appearing after Adams's death was reported, and to assumptions that the two events occurred on the same day, even by those connected to the naming: on 14 May 2001, German amateur astronomer Reiner Stoss at the Starkenburg Observatory wrote: "You may have heard the sad news that Douglas Adams passed away last Friday. By accident on the same day the naming of minor planet (18610) Arthurdent was announced by the Minor Planet Center. We wanted to make Mr. Adams a joy, but did never dare to think that he wouldn't be able to receive this surprise, when we sent our name proposal to the MPC a few months back." References 30em 2016-10-29 last obs. JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 18610 Arthurdent (1998 CC2) https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2018610 Jet Propulsion Laboratory 26 June 2017 Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (18610) Arthurdent Schmadel Lutz D. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 853 2007 978-3-540-00238-3 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_9512 (18610) Arthurdent 18610 Arthurdent (1998 CC2) Minor Planet Center https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=18610 7 April 2016 New Names of Minor Planets Minor Planet Circular May 9, 2001 Cambridge, Massachusetts Minor Planet Center M.P.C. 42677 https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/2001/MPC_20010509.pdf 0736-6884 MPC/MPO/MPS Archive Minor Planet Center https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html 19 May 2016 Absolute Magnitude (H) NASA/JPL http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/glossary/h.html https://web.archive.org/web/20010302182040/http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/glossary/h.html 2 March 2001 7 April 2016 Planetary tribute to Hitch Hiker author as Arthurdent named Tim Radford The Guardian 16 May 2001 https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/16/books.spaceexploration 7 April 2016 Douglas Adams – The more than complete Hitchhikers's Guide Inert Ramblings 28 August 2003 http://www.inertramblings.com/2003/08/28/douglas-adams-the-more-than-complete-hitchhikers-guide/ 7 April 2016 CCNet 67/2001 14 May 2001 Cambridge Conference Correspondence http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc051401.html 7 April 2016 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171200/http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc051401.html 3 March 2016 6 Joseph R. Masiero A. K. Mainzer T. Grav J. M. Bauer R. M. Cutri J. Dailey P. R. M. Eisenhardt R. S. McMillan T. B. Spahr M. F. Skrutskie D. Tholen R. G. Walker E. L. Wright E. DeBaun D. Elsbury T. IV Gautier S. Gomillion A. Wilkins November 2011 Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2011ApJ...741...68M The Astrophysical Journal 741 2 20 2011ApJ...741...68M 10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68 1109.4096 118745497 3 December 2016 18610 26 June 2017 External links Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info https://web.archive.org/web/20171216050541/http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html 16 December 2017 ) Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR https://web.archive.org/web/20160729213840/http://obswww.unige.ch/~behrend/page_cou.html 29 July 2016 – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (15001)-(20000) – Minor Planet Center 18610 18609 Shinobuyama 18610 18611 Baudelaire 018610 018610 Category:Named minor planets 18610 Arthurdent 19980207