| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. Tom Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| (2940) Bacon | |
Named after | Francis Bacon (English scholar)[2] |
| 3042 P-L · 1981 ER3 | |
| main-belt · (middle) Dora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 56.46 yr (20,621 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.4366AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1278 AU |
| 2.7822 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2352 |
| 4.64yr (1,695 days) | |
| 77.051° | |
| Inclination | 6.4417° |
| 273.76° | |
| 116.75° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 8.953±0.240 km[4] |
| 0.055±0.005[4] | |
| 14.3[1] | |
Bacon (minor planet designation:2940 Bacon), provisional designation3042 P-L, is acarbonaceous Dorianasteroid from the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1960, byIngrid andCornelis van Houten at Leiden, andTom Gehrels atPalomar Observatory in California, United States.[5] It was later named after English philosopher and statesmanFrancis Bacon.[2]
Bacon is a member of theDora family (FIN: 512), a well-established centralasteroid family of more than 1,200 carbonaceous asteroids. The family's namesake is668 Dora. It is alternatively known as the "Zhongolovich family", named after its presumably largest member1734 Zhongolovich. The Dora family may also contain a subfamily.[3][6]: 13, 23
It orbits the Sun in themiddle main-belt at a distance of 2.1–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,695 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.24 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar, as noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.[5]
Thesurvey designation "P-L" stands forPalomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory andLeiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitfulPalomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar'sSamuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped thephotographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory whereastrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand asteroids.[7]
According to the surveys carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Bacon measures 8.953 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.055,[4] which is typical for carbonaceousC-type asteroids. It has anabsolute magnitude of 14.3.[1]
As of 2017,Bacon'srotation period and shape, as well as itsspectral type remains unknown.[1][8]
Thisminor planet was named in honour of English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and authorSir Francis Bacon (1561–1626). He has been called the father ofempiricism and his works established and popularized the scientific method. According to theBaconian theory, he wrote the plays attributed to William Shakespeare.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 29 September 1985 (M.P.C. 10044).[9]
