| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Jensen |
| Discovery site | Brorfelde Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 October 1986 |
| Designations | |
| (5900) Jensen | |
Named after | Paul and Bodil Jensen[2] (discoverer and wife) |
| 1986 TL · 1930 UT 1969 PD | |
| main-belt · (outer) Lixiaohua[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 86.46 yr (31,578 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.8235AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4821 AU |
| 3.1528 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2127 |
| 5.60yr (2,045 days) | |
| 222.85° | |
| 0° 10m 33.96s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.0509° |
| 302.09° | |
| 35.061° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 19.934±0.195 km[4] |
| 0.030±0.014[5] | |
| 12.2[1] | |
5900 Jensen, provisional designation1986 TL, is a dark Lixiaohuaasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 October 1986, by Danish astronomerPoul Jensen at theBrorfelde Observatory in Denmark.[6] The asteroid was named for the discoverer and his wife Bodil Jensen.
Jensen is a member of theLixiaohua family,[3] an outer-beltasteroid family with more than 700 known members, consisting ofC-type andX-type asteroids. The family's namesake is3556 Lixiaohua.[7]: 23
It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.5–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,045 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.21 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as1930 UT atLowell Observatory in October 1930. The body'sobservation arc begins also at Lowell Observatory, with aprecovery taken two days before its first identification, and 56 years prior to its official discovery observation at Brorfelde.[6]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Jensen measures 19.934 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.030.[4][5]
As of 2017, no rotationallightcurve ofJensen has been obtained from photometric observations. The asteroid'srotation period, poles and shape remains unknown.[8]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of the discoverer and his wife,Paul and Bodil Jensen. The name was proposed by his colleaguesKarl Augustesen andHans Jørn Fogh Olsen. Jensen worked for 35 years in the Meridian Circle Department at theBrorfelde Observatory, and also participated in the observatories minor-planet program using its Schmidt telescope.[2]
The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 22 July, 1994 (M.P.C. 23793).[9]
