1580 Betulia
Encyclopedia
1580 Betulia is an Amor asteroid
discovered on May 22, 1950 by Ernest Leonard Johnson
at the Union Observatory
, Johannesburg
, South Africa
. Betulia's shape has been accurately determined: at its widest point, the asteroid is 6.59 ± .66 km wide; however, its effective diameter is 5.39
± .54 km.
The name honours Betulia Toro, wife of the astronomer Samuel Herrick
. Herrick had studied the asteroid's orbit, and requested the name, along with that of 1685 Toro
.
Amor asteroid
The Amor asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after the asteroid 1221 Amor. They approach the orbit of the Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. Most Amors do cross the orbit of Mars...
discovered on May 22, 1950 by Ernest Leonard Johnson
Ernest Leonard Johnson
Ernest Leonard Johnson was a South African astronomer.He was a former staff member of Union Observatory, retiring in 1956.He discovered a number of asteroids, and several comets, including periodic comet 48P/Johnson.-External references:...
at the Union Observatory
Union Observatory
Union Observatory was an astronomical observatory located in the suburb Observatory, Johannesburg, South Africa. It bears IAU code 078.Known as the Transvaal Observatory in its early years, it became the Republic Observatory in 1961...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Betulia's shape has been accurately determined: at its widest point, the asteroid is 6.59 ± .66 km wide; however, its effective diameter is 5.39
± .54 km.
The name honours Betulia Toro, wife of the astronomer Samuel Herrick
Samuel Herrick (astronomer)
Samuel Herrick was an American astronomer who specialized in celestial mechanics and made important studies preceding the development of manned space flight.-External links:*University of California,...
. Herrick had studied the asteroid's orbit, and requested the name, along with that of 1685 Toro
1685 Toro
1685 Toro is an Apollo asteroid that orbits the Sun in an 8:5 resonance with Earth, and a 13:5 resonance with Venus. Because of this unusual orbit, it is sometimes referenced as "Earth's second satellite"....
.