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6229 Tursachan

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Tursachan
Discovery
Discovered byB. A. Skiff
Discovery siteAnderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory
Discovery date4 November 1983
Designations
(6229) Tursachan
1983 VN7
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc11763 days (32.21 yr)
Aphelion3.6499281 AU (546.02147 Gm)
Perihelion2.5142954 AU (376.13324 Gm)
3.082112 AU (461.0774 Gm)
Eccentricity0.1842297
5.41 yr (1976.4 d)
356.18777°
0° 10m 55.744s / day
Inclination1.649510°
146.27487°
234.35565°
Earth MOID1.51576 AU (226.754 Gm)
Jupiter MOID1.8053 AU (270.07 Gm)
TJupiter3.201
Physical characteristics
16.5962 h (0.69151 d)
13.2

6229 Tursachan (1983 VN7) is a main-belt asteroid discovered on November 4, 1983, by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory.

Citation

The name is "Standing Stones" in Gaelic, a term used to refer to the stones placed during neolithic times into small or large groups, often into circles, throughout the British Isles. Many of these arrangements exhibit astronomical alignments, and are thought to have been used in at least some cases to track the progression of seasons and mark the occurrence of other significant astronomical events. The name was suggested by Alice Cathryne Dennis, seventh-grade student at The Mountain School in Flagstaff, Arizona, as winner of a contest to name this asteroid in conjunction with the 1997 Flagstaff Festival of Science. Citation prepared by C. B. Luginbuhl.

References

  1. ^ "6229 Tursachan (1983 VN7)". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 April 2016.