18610 Arthurdent

18610 Arthurdent
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Starkenburg Obs.
Discovery site Starkenburg Obs.
Discovery date 7 February 1998
Designations
MPC designation 18610 Arthurdent
Named after
 Arthur Dent (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)[2]
1998 CC2 · 1990 EG3
main-belt · (middle)
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 27.84 yr (10,167 days)
Aphelion 3.0933 AU
Perihelion 2.0015 AU
2.5474 AU
Eccentricity 0.2143
4.07 yr (1,485 days)
273.28°
0° 14m 32.64s / day
Inclination 5.5883°
319.49°
139.43°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 3.463±0.055[3]
4±1 km (est. at 0.20)[4]
0.234±0.020[3]
14.3[1]

    18610 Arthurdent, provisional designation 1998 CC2, is an asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by a team of German astronomers including Felix Hormuth at Starkenburg Observatory in Heppenheim on 7 February 1998.[5] It is named after Arthur Dent from Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.

    The asteroid orbits the Sun 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.[1] 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 discovery.[5]

    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.[3] Inner main-belt asteroids with such an albedo are typically of a silicaceous rather than of a carbonaceous composition. Based on an absolute magnitude of 14.3 and a generic albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25, the asteroid measures between 3 and 8 kilometers in diameter.[4] As of 2016, the asteroid's composition, rotation period and shape remain unknown.

    The asteroid is named after Arthur Dent, the bewildered hero of Douglas Adams's radio play and book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.[6] The naming of the asteroid was announced by the Minor Planet Center in its Minor Planet Circular on 9 May 2001 (M.P.C. 42677).[7][8] Two days later, Adams died of a heart attack in Santa Barbara, California.[9] 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."[10]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 18610 Arthurdent (1998 CC2)" (2016-08-09 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
    2. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (18610) Arthurdent. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 853. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
    4. 1 2 "Absolute Magnitude (H)". NASA/JPL. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
    5. 1 2 "18610 Arthurdent (1998 CC2)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
    6. ↑ Tim Radford (16 May 2001). "Planetary tribute to Hitch Hiker author as Arthurdent named". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
    7. ↑ "New Names of Minor Planets" (PDF), Minor Planet Circular, Cambridge, Mass: Minor Planet Center (M.P.C. 42677), May 9, 2001, ISSN 0736-6884
    8. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
    9. ↑ "Douglas Adams – The more than complete Hitchhikers's Guide". Inert Ramblings. 28 August 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
    10. ↑ "CCNet 67/2001". Cambridge Conference Correspondence. 14 May 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2016.

    External links

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