| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| (4065) Meinel | |
Named after | Aden Meinel (American astronomer)[2] |
| 2820 P-L · 1976 JF6 1986 GQ1 | |
| main-beltinner | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.81 yr (23,306 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4404AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0932 AU |
| 2.2668 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0766 |
| 3.41yr (1,247 days) | |
| 133.39° | |
| 0° 17m 19.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.1640° |
| 22.788° | |
| 102.54° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.873±0.075 km[3] |
| 0.270±0.021[3] | |
| 14.1[1] | |
4065 Meinel, provisional designation2820 P-L, is anasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1960, by Dutch astronomer coupleIngrid andCornelis van Houten on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomerTom Gehrels atPalomar Observatory, California.[4] The asteroid was named for American astronomerAden Meinel.[2]
TheS-type asteroid is a member of theFlora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[citation needed] It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.4 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,247 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1]A firstprecovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1953, extendingMeinel'sobservation arc by 7 years prior to its discovery.[4]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Meinel measures 3.87 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.270.[3] As of 2016, the asteroid's composition, shape androtation period remains unknown.[1][5]
Thesurvey designation "P-L" stands forPalomar–Leiden, named after Palomar 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 minor planets.[6]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of the American physicist and astronomerAden Meinel (1922–2011).[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 18 February 1992 (M.P.C. 19695).[7]
