1660 Wood is a 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 April 7, 1953, by the astronomet J. A. Bruwer at The Johannesburg Observatory in 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...

.

This asteroid was named for the British/ South African astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

 Harry Edwin Wood

Harry Edwin Wood

Harry Edwin Wood was an English astronomer.Wood was born in Manchester, England, graduating from Manchester University in 1902 with first class honours in physics, going on to gain an M.Sc in 1905...

 (1881 - 1946), who had formerly been the head of the observatory

Observatory

An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

at which this asteroid was discovered, and who had discovered 12 asteroids himself between 1911 and 1928.

External links

• JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 1660 Wood