Discovery date 3 October 1953 Minor planet category main-belt · (outer) Orbital period 2,040 days Aphelion 3.29 m Named after Herman B Wells Discoverer Indiana Asteroid Program | MPC designation 1721 Wells Observation arc 72.71 yr (26,556 days) Discovered 3 October 1953 Orbits Sun Discovery site Goethe Link Observatory | |
Discovered by Indiana University
(Indiana Asteroid Program) Alternative names 1953 TD3 · 1944 DA
1958 QE · A905 CG | ||
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.
Wells orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.0–3.3 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,041 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 16° with respect to the ecliptic. 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.
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. It has an absolute magnitude of 10.9. 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. Naming citation was published before November 1977 (M.P.C. 3508).