Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

1912 Anubis

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Discovery date
  
24 September 1960

Minor planet category
  
main-belt · Koronis

Aphelion
  
3.17 m

Asteroid family
  
Koronis family

Asteroid group
  
Asteroid belt

MPC designation
  
1912 Anubis

Discovered
  
24 September 1960

Orbits
  
Sun

Discovery site
  
Palomar Observatory

Discovered by
  
C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. Tom Gehrels

Named after
  
Anubis (Egyptian deity)

Alternative names
  
6534 P-L · 1938 DJ2 1943 DD · 1968 HQ

Discoverers
  
Tom Gehrels, Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld

1912 Anubis, also designated 6534 P-L, is a stony Koronian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on September 24, 1960, by the Dutch and Dutch–American astronomers Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels, who took the photographic plates at Palomar Observatory, California.

The S-type asteroid is a member of the Koronis family, a group consisting of about 200 known bodies. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.6–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,808 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. It has a rotation period of 4.6 hours and an albedo of 0.24, assumed by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link.

The survey designation "P-L" stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand minor planets.

The minor planet is named for Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian god and protector of the dead. On the same date, the trio of astronomers also discovered 1923 Osiris, 1924 Horus and 5011 Ptah, also named after Ancient Egyptian deities. Naming citation was published on 1 November 1979 (M.P.C. 5013).

References

1912 Anubis Wikipedia