1270 Datura
Encyclopedia
1270 Datura is a S-type
main-belt
asteroid
discovered on December 17, 1930 by George Van Biesbroeck
at Yerkes Observatory
. This asteroid is believed to result from the collisional destruction of a larger parent body approximately 450,000 years ago. It is named for the Datura
plant genus
.
S-type asteroid
S-type asteroids are of a stony composition, hence the name. Approximately 17% of asteroids are of this type, making it the second most common after the C-type.-Characteristics:...
main-belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
discovered on December 17, 1930 by George Van Biesbroeck
George Van Biesbroeck
George A. Van Biesbroeck was a Belgian-American astronomer. He worked at observatories in Belgium, Germany and the United States. He specialized in the observation of double stars, asteroids and comets...
at Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Chicago in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. The observatory, which calls itself "the birthplace of modern astrophysics," was founded in 1897 by George Ellery Hale and financed by Charles T. Yerkes...
. This asteroid is believed to result from the collisional destruction of a larger parent body approximately 450,000 years ago. It is named for the Datura
Datura
Datura is a genus of nine species of vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Its precise and natural distribution is uncertain, owing to its extensive cultivation and naturalization throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe...
plant genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
.