8373 Stephengould (1992 AB) is an outer main-belt binary asteroid[5] discovered on 1 January 1992 by Carolyn S. Shoemaker and Eugene Merle Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory.[1] The asteroid was named after the Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. The asteroid has a very high inclination, having the second highest inclination of any of the first 10,000 discovered asteroids in the asteroid belt, after 2938 Hopi.

Stephengould
Discovery[1]
Discovered by
Discovery sitePalomar
Discovery date1 January 1992
Designations
(8373) Stephengould
Named after
Stephen Jay Gould
1992 AB
Orbital characteristics[4][2]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc8844 days (24.21 yr)
Aphelion5.09996 AU (762.943 Gm)
Perihelion1.45970 AU (218.368 Gm)
3.27983 AU (490.656 Gm)
Eccentricity0.554947
5.94 yr (2169.6 d)
358.004°
0° 9m 57.352s / day
Inclination40.7923°
88.8722°
55.5019°
Known satellites1
Jupiter MOID1.4741 AU (220.52 Gm)
TJupiter2.587
Physical characteristics
4.435 h (0.1848 d)
14.0

Stephengould is one of few strongly unstable asteroids located near the 2:1 mean motion resonance with the gas giant Jupiter, that corresponds to one of the prominent Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt.[3]

The asteroid has a moon orbiting it, discovered in 2010 with an orbital period of 1 day, 10 hours, and 9 minutes.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (5001)–(10000)". IAU: Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
  2. ^ a b "8373 Stephengould (1992 AB)". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b Roig, F.; Nesvorný, D.; Ferraz-Mello, S. (September 2002). "Asteroids in the 2 : 1 resonance with Jupiter: dynamics and size distribution [ Erratum: 2002MNRAS.336.1391R ]". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 335 (2): 417–431. Bibcode:2002MNRAS.335..417R. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05635.x.
  4. ^ "(8373) Stephengould". AstDyS. Italy: University of Pisa. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  5. ^ a b Johnston, Robert. "(8373) Stephengould". johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
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