Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
Discovery date | 3 October 1953 |
Designations | |
(1721) Wells | |
Named after | Herman Wells (Indiana University) [2] |
1953 TD3 ·1944 DA 1958 QE ·A905 CG | |
main-belt ·(outer) | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 112.13 yr (40,957 days) |
Aphelion | 3.2969 AU |
Perihelion | 3.0049 AU |
3.1509 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.0463 |
5.59 yr (2,043 days) | |
101.64° | |
Inclination | 16.107° |
317.29° | |
137.52° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 43.576±0.166 km [3] |
0.045±0.005 [3] | |
10.9 [1] | |
1721 Wells, provisional designation 1953 TD3, is a dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 44 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 3 October 1953, by IU's Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States. [4] It was named after UI's president and chancellor Herman B Wells. [2]
Wells orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 3.0–3.3 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,043 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 16° with respect to the ecliptic. [1]
First identified as A905 CG at Heidelberg in 1905, Well's first used observation was taken at Turku in 1944, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 9 years prior to its official discovery observation. [4]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Wells measures 43.576 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.045. [3] It has an absolute magnitude of 10.9. [1] As of 2017, Well's spectral type, rotation period and shape remain unknown.
This minor planet was named in honor of Herman B Wells (1902–2000), chancellor and president and of Indiana University, who has transformed Indiana University from a provincial college into a world-renowned institution of higher learning. During this time, Wells also fostered higher education nationally and internationally. [2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 15 June 1973 ( M.P.C. 3508). [5]
1500 Jyväskylä, provisional designation 1938 UH, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 October 1938, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at the Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland. It was named for the Finnish town Jyväskylä.
1764 Cogshall, provisional designation 1953 VM1, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 26 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 November 1953 by astronomers of the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after Wilbur Cogshall, professor of astronomy at Indiana University.
1765 Wrubel, provisional designation 1957 XB, is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 40 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 December 1957, by astronomers of the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after Marshal Henry Wrubel, professor at Indiana University.
1822 Waterman, provisional designation 1950 OO, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6.5 kilometers in diameter.
1824 Haworth is an asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 14 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1952, by Indiana University's Indiana Asteroid Program at its Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States, and named after physicist Leland John Haworth.
1988 Delores, provisional designation 1952 SV, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter.
1034 Mozartia, provisional designation 1924 SS, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 September 1924, by Soviet Vladimir Albitsky at Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula, and named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
1859 Kovalevskaya, provisional designation 1972 RS2, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 40 kilometers in diameter.
2032 Ethel, provisional designation 1970 OH, is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 36 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 July 1970, by Soviet astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula. The asteroid was named after Irish writer Ethel Voynich.
1569 Evita, provisional designation 1948 PA, is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 36 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 August 1948, by astronomer Miguel Itzigsohn at the La Plata Astronomical Observatory in Argentina. The asteroid was named after Eva Perón.
1755 Lorbach, provisional designation 1936 VD, is a stony Eoan asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 25 kilometers in diameter.
2056 Nancy, provisional designation A909 TB, is a stony background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 October 1909, by German astronomer Joseph Helffrich at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The S-type asteroid has a tentative rotation period of 15.0 hours. It was named for Nancy Marsden, wife of British astronomer Brian G. Marsden.
1720 Niels, provisional designation 1935 CQ, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6.4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 February 1935, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany, and named after a grandson of the discoverer.
1760 Sandra, provisional designation 1950 GB, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 35 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 April 1950, by South African astronomer Ernest Johnson at Union Observatory in Johannesburg, and named after his granddaughter Sandra.
1731 Smuts, provisional designation 1948 PH, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 54 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 August 1948, by South African astronomer Ernest Johnson at Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa, who named it after Field marshal Jan Smuts.
1397 Umtata, provisional designation 1936 PG, is an asteroid from the background population of the asteroid belt's central region, approximately 21 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by South-African astronomer Cyril Jackson at the Union Observatory in Johannesburg on 9 August 1936. The asteroid was named after the South-African town of Mthatha, formerly known as Umtata.
1704 Wachmann, provisional designation A924 EE, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory on 7 March 1924. It was later named after astronomer Arno Wachmann.
1861 Komenský, provisional designation 1970 WB, is an Eoan asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, estimated to measure approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 November 1970, by Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek at the Bergedorf Observatory in Hamburg, Germany, and named after John Amos Comenius.
1530 Rantaseppä, provisional designation 1938 SG, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in 1938, it was later named after Finnish astronomer Hilkka Rantaseppä-Helenius.
1542 Schalén, provisional designation 1941 QE, is a background asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 45 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 August 1941, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland. The dark D-type asteroid was later named after Swedish astronomer Karl Schalén.