508 Princetonia
Encyclopedia
508 Princetonia is an asteroid
, a minor planet
orbiting the Sun
. It was discovered by Raymond Smith Dugan
at Heidelberg
, Germany in 1903 and named "Princetonia" for Princeton University
in New Jersey
in the United States
.
Dugan found it during his time at Königstuhl Observatory
with Max Wolf
in Heidelberg, Germany. At the time he was working on his Ph.D. from Heidelberg University. The asteroid is located in the main asteroid belt and is about 88 miles in diameter (140 km) according to data from IRAS
, an infrared space observatory in the 1980s.
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...
, a minor planet
Minor planet
An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...
orbiting the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. It was discovered by Raymond Smith Dugan
Raymond Smith Dugan
Raymond Smith Dugan was an American astronomer and a graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts .Dugan obtained his Masters Degree from Amherst College in 1902, and then received his Ph.D...
at Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Germany in 1903 and named "Princetonia" for Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Dugan found it during his time at Königstuhl Observatory
Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl
The Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory is an historic astronomical observatory located near the summit of the Königstuhl hill in the city of Heidelberg in Germany...
with Max Wolf
Max Wolf
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography...
in Heidelberg, Germany. At the time he was working on his Ph.D. from Heidelberg University. The asteroid is located in the main asteroid belt and is about 88 miles in diameter (140 km) according to data from IRAS
IRAS
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite was the first-ever space-based observatory to perform a survey of the entire sky at infrared wavelengths....
, an infrared space observatory in the 1980s.
Further reading
See also
- List of Solar System objects by size