Table of Calvin College Asteroid Discoveries

LATEST NEWS:

August 19, 2008: The asteroid (188847) 2006 FT9 received the name Rhipeus.

May 21, 2008: The asteroids 2007 DA1 and 2007 DB1 received the permanent numbers 187644 and 187645, respectively.

April 23, 2008: The asteroids 2005 SD134 and 2006 SS130 received the permanent numbers 184708 and 185141, respectively.

February 21, 2008: The asteroids 2005 SO19 and 2006 WF1 received the permanent numbers 177906 and 178227, respectively.

January 24, 2008: The asteroid 2005 ER305 received a permanent number: 175199.

January 15, 2008: High school students from the Prairie School in Racine, Wisconsin, discovered four asteroids using data from the Calvin-Rehoboh Observatory. (Online media article.)

October 26, 2007: The asteroid 2005 EV29 received a permanent number: 167875.

October 16, 2007: Eleven new asteroids were discovered on the night of the fall asteroid discovery lab (Astronomy 110), with an additional seven found in followup measurements.

August 28, 2007: The asteroid 2005 SK19 received the permanent number 161595.

May 2, 2007: One more asteroid received a permanent number: 2006 AY2 is now 157694.

April 4, 2007: Two more asteroids received names: Asteroid Rehoboth and Asteroid De Young, bring our total of named asteroids to four.

April 4, 2007: Three more asteroids received permanent numbers, including two discovered in the fall of 2005 by Calvin students in the Astronomy 110 and 111 classes: 2005 SN19 is now 155054, 2005 SH58 is now 155067. These classes now have three permanent numbers altogether.

March 24, 2007: The asteroid discovery lab this spring was our most successful ever, with eighteen new discoveries in one week, and twenty-three discovered altogether.

March 6, 2007: The asteroid provisionally designated 2005 SL19 received the permanent number 152233. This was discovered in the fall of 2005 by Calvin students in the Astronomy 110 and 111 classes. It is the first asteroid discovered in one of our astronomy discovery laboratories to receive its permanent number.

The Minor Planet Center (MPC) credits Calvin College with the discovery of 191 asteroids as of 10/11/08 (principal designations). Of these, 22 have been given permanent designations. (Twenty-two additional ones were given provisional designations that are now considered secondary designations.) The table below summarizes the essential information on these objects (name, discovery circumstances, orbital parameters as determined by the MPC, size, and the circumstances of the next close approach to Earth). Active links for each asteroid link to a 3D interactive orbit visualization tool from the NASA Near Earth Object Program. Descriptions of each column are given below.

Designation: Asteroid positional measurements are reported to the MPC, which evaluates the measurements for quality, compares them to positions of known asteroids, and assigns provisional designations to newly discovered asteroids. These designations indicate the approximate date of discovery: a four digit year, a letter based on the half-month within which the first measurement was made, and an alphanumeric value denoting the order of discovery within the halfmonth (cf. the detailed description of the nomenclature).

To define the orbit of an asteroid precisely, observations over a number of years are required. Asteroids for which adequate observations have been made at four or more oppositions have orbits established well enough that they will never be lost or confused with other objects. These receive a permanent designation, a six digit serial number.

Discovery Circumstances:

Date: Date of first observation of asteroid by Calvin College.

Orbit: Asteroid orbits are modeled as Keplerian ellipses, the shape of which are determined by the average distance from the Sun (the semimajor axis, a, in units of the Earth-Sun distance, the AU) and the eccentricity (e). The orbits are generally tilted with respect to the plane of the Earth's orbit by an inclination, i (in units of degrees). The values given here are osculating elements computed by the Minor Planet Center. For the current position and brightness and the status of observations of any asteroid, try their Minor Planet Ephemeris Service. To visualize the orbits of our asteroids, simply click on the asteroid name in the table above.

Size: This column gives the absolute magnitude, H, of each asteroid, the brightness as it would be seen from a standard distance. The units are logarithmic with small