The Minor Planet (Asteroid): “Tonycook”

Figure 1. The “Mathilde” asteroid as imaged by the NASA spacecraft NEAR in 1997. A NASA image.

What is an Asteroid?

An asteroid is a small lump of rock that lies, usually, in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Their sizes can range from just a few metres up to a few hundred km. They are the remains of early solar system planet formation which may not have come together, some maybe dead comets, whilst others maybe the result additional collisions between asteroids.

The Discovery:

The asteroid was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona in Tucson on May 7^th 2003, by a team of astronomers. Richard Hill, one of the team members told me that they find so many asteroids that it is not possible to say who on the team actually discovered individual ones. In order to be a confirmed asteroid it must be observed on two different nights. They also have to make sure that it has not already been discovered. So confirming the discovery of an asteroid is never a short process.

As there are likely to be between 1 and 3 million asteroids out there, larger than 1 km in diameter (mostly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter), astronomers provisionally allocate a number to the asteroids, so in the above case it was called “2003 JO13”, at least until they could think of a better name.

The Naming of:

The convention for naming asteroids is that the observer, or team of observers who discover it, have up to 10 years to allocate it a name, and unlike names of craters on planets and moons which have specific themes (e.g. on Mercury they are named after artists, poets, philosophers etc., on Venus they are named after famous women, and on Mars, war related gods etc.), the naming of asteroids is a bit of a free for all. In the early years of discovery they were named typically after gods, but have in more recent times been named after the discoverer’s relatives and friends, their favourite musicians, places visited, and even their pets as is the case of “Mr Spock” – though pet names are now banned! Searching through modern names of asteroids you can see that those involved with asteroid mission have featured as too winners of US high School student science project competitions.

My name was selected for asteroid 2003 JO13 on the basis of outreach work I do with amateur astronomers who study the Moon as four other UK amateur astronomers had asteroids named after them in the same year: Grego, Leatherbarrow, Haroldhill, and Longshaw. However it also recognizes some earlier planetary cartography work. As to why my asteroid was named “Tony Cook” rather than “Tony Cook” or just “Cook”, this appears to be because Cook is a common name and so could be confused with others with a similar surname. Also these days they prefer single word names to multiple words as these slip off the tongue better when spoken and are perhaps easier to remember. Hence its full title is now: 95928 Tonycook as it’s the 95928^th asteroid held in the International Astronomical Union’s catalog of minor planets.

Note that I categorically do not own this asteroid, it’s simply been given my name in a similar way to which large boats, aircraft or trains are given names. However I will be keeping a close eye on any research published about this asteroid.

What We Know About the Asteroid:

All we know are is its orbit and brightness. It is simply too far away to see anything other than a dot on any images taken, so it would look like any other star! However the orbit and brightness tell us a lot and here is what I have been able to figure out:

Minimum distance to Sun	340 million km
Maximum distance to Sun	470 million km
Closest distance to Earth	190 million km
Orbital inclination	13.2˚ - slightly inclined out of the plane of the solar system
Orbital period (an asteroid year)	4.44 years
Rotation period (an asteroid day)	Unknown
Brightest magnitude	+18 or 63 thousand times fainter than the faintest naked eye star
Faintest magnitude	+21 or 1 million times fainter than the faintest naked eye star
Colour	Unknown
Composition	Unknown
Shape	Unknown – but asteroids are often irregular
Reflectivity	4% to 20% are a typical range of values for asteroids at this distance from the Sun
Minimum diameter	2.3 km – if we approximate its shape as a sphere and take the brightest reflectivity
Maximum diameter	6.3 km – if we approximate its shape to a sphere and take the darkest reflectivity
No. of moons	Unknown, but very occasionally some asteroids do have moons

Given that there are so many asteroids, it will take a while before we find out its rotation period, colour, composition and approximate shape, and it may be many decades before it is visited by spacecraft and we learn what it really looks like, and whether it has any moons. However to give an approximate idea of minimum and maximum sizes - if we approximated it to a spherical shape, see Fig. 2 below:

Figure 2. The size of asteroid Tonycook compared to the West Wales coastal town of Aberystwyth, Two sizes are given. The smaller is if the asteroid is bright at 20% reflectivity. The larger is if the asteroid is dark with just 4% reflectivity. Note that asteroids this small are usually irregular in shape and so the above circular profiles are approximations only.

Where to Find the Tonycook Asteroid:

Figure 3. Orbital information about asteroid 95928 Tonycook from the NASA JPL SSD web site

The NASA Solar System Dynamics website will give you all the information you need. Just click on: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi and then type in the asteroid name Tonycook, and press the return key (See Fig 3). If you want to visualize the orbit in 3D, click on the Orbit diagram button (see Fig 4) - though you may need to change preferences in your browser to get this to work properly. Budding amateur astronomers, with good deep sky imaging capability, can even have a go at trying to find the asteroid, based upon the sky coordinates found by pressing the ephemeris button (see Fig 5).

. Figure 4. Visualisation of the orbit of asteroid 95928 Tony Cook from the NASA JPL SSD web site

Figure 5. Coordinates in the sky of asteroid 95928 Tonycook, from the NASA JPL SSD website

Asteroids Named after Brits, or Associated with British Culture:

The following is a non-inclusive list. If I have missed any out, please let me know!

Minor Planet	Reason
12 Victoria	A Roman goddess but also of the same name as the British Queen
42 Isis	An Egyptian goddess, but also the first name of Pogson (an astronomer’s) daughter
281 Lucretia	Caroline Lucretia Herschel – a British astronomer
359 Georgia	Named after King George II, who was also the founder of a University in Göttingen
876 Scott	Sir Captain Scott of the Antarctic
1241 Dysona	Frank Watson Dyson – the 9^th Astronomer Royal
1830 Pogson	Norman Pogson – British Astronomer who observed from Madras Observatory, India
1877 Marsden	Brian Marsden – a British Director of the Minor Planets Center
1996 Adams	John Couch Adams – Mathematician/Astronomer who jointly predicted where Neptune would be found
2000 Herschel	Sir William Herschel - Discover of the Planet Uranus
2099 Öpik	Ernst Öpik, an Estonian astronomer who worked at Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland
2246 Bowell	Edward Bowell – a British astronomer studying minor planets at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff
2383 Bradley	James Bradley – the 3^rd Astronomer Royal
2591 Dworetsky	Mike Dworetsky - astronomer from University College London
2602 Moore	Popular TV Astronomer and author
2635 Huggins	Sir William Huggins – a pioneer of spectroscopy in astronomy
2675 Tolkien	J.R.R. Tolkien - the author of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
2688 Halley	Sir Edmund Halley, 2^nd astronomer Royal and predicted the return of Halley’s Comet
2830 Greenwich	Observatory and prime meridian
2940 Bacon	Sir Francis Bacon an Elizabethan Scholar
2985 Shakespeare	Sir William Shakespeare - playwright
2991 Bilbo	The main character from the Hobbit
3018 Godiva	Lady Godiva
3062 Wren	Sir Christopher Wren, the architect
3078 Horrocks	Jerimiah Horrocks – English Astronomer
3174 Alcock	George Alcock – A Peterborough amateur astronomer who discovered novae and comets
3326 TARDIS	Dr Who's time machine
3697 Guyhurst	An amateur astronomer who edits The Astronomer publication
4040 Purcell	Henry Purcell – Composer
4984 Hollis	Andrew Hollis – Director of the British Astronomical Association Asteroid Section
4110 Keats	John Keats – Poet
4124 Herriot	Author of All Creatures Great and Small
4147 Lennon	John Lennon - one of the Beatles
4148 McCartney	Paul McCartney - one of the Beatles
4149 Harrison	George Harrison - one of the Beatles
4150 Starr	Ringo Starr - one of the Beatles
4305 Clapton	Eric Clapton - Musician
4326 McNally	Derek McNally – a British Astronomer
4370 Dickens	Charles Dickens - the famous author
4506 Hendrie	Malcolm Hendrie a British Astronomical Association Comet Section director
4587 Rees	Astronomer Royal
4749 Ledzeppelin	A rock band
4751 Alicemanning	Alice Manning, wife of Brian Manning who discovered this asteroid
4818 Elgar	Sir Edward Elgar - composer
4923 Clarke	Arthur C. Clarke –the Science Fiction author
5048 Moriarty	A fictional character from the Sherlock Holmes stories
5049 Sherlock	A fictional character from the Sherlock Holmes stories
5050 Doctorwatson	A fictional character from the Sherlock Holmes stories
5099 Iainbanks	Iain Banks –Science Fiction author
5405 Neverland	A fictional location in the Peter Pan story
5805 Glasgow	The Scottish City
6042 Cheshirecat	A fictional cat from Alice’s Adventures in Wonerland
6156 Dall	Horace Dall – amateur astronomer specializing in instrumentation and astrophotography
6223 Dahl	Roald Dahl – Children’s author
6434 Jewitt	British Astronomer who discovered one of the first Kuiper Belt Objects
6440 Ransome	Arthur Ransome – Children’s author of Swallows and Amazons
6735 Madhatter	Fictional character from Alice in Wonderland
6736 Marchare	Fictional character from Alice in Wonderland
7010 Locke	John Locke – British Philosopher 7032 Hitchcock
7012 Hobbes	Thomas Hobbes – A Political Philosopher
7016 Conandoyle	Arthur Conan Doyle - Author of the Sherlock Holmes novels
7032 Hitchcock	Alfred Hitchcock – British born Hollywood film director and producer
7166 Kennedy	Malcolm Kennedy – Secretary of the Astronomical Society of Glasgow
7239 Mobberley	British amateur astronomer and past president of the British Astronomical Association
7470 Jabberwock	A fictional character from Alice in Wonderland
7498 Whitaker	Ewen Whitaker a British planetary scientist involved in lunar mapping at the University of Arizona
7603 Salopia	Another name for Shropshire
7644 Cslewis	Author of Alice in Wonderland
7672 Hawking	Stephen Hawking - Theoretical Physicist and Mathematician
7707 Yes	A rock and roll group
7966 Richardbaum	English Amateur astronomer involved in planetary observation
8000 Isaac Newton	Famous mathematician/astronomer
8077 Hoyle	Sir Fred Hoyle - originated the Steady State theory
8079 Bernardlovell	Radio Astronomer from Jodrell Bank
8110 Heath	English Amateur astronomer involved in planetary observation
8166 Buczynski	English amateur involved in lunar and deep sky observing
8236 Gainsborough	Thomas Gainsborough – Landscape and portrait painter
8237 Constable	John Constable – Landscape painter
8545 McGee	Hazel McGee - past president of the British Astronomical Association
8749 Beatles	The 1960's pop group
8837 London	The capital city of England and the UK
8849 Brighton	English coastal city
8914 Nickjames	Amateur astronomer
9007 James Bond	Fictional spy character
9325 Stonehenge	Ancient observatory/place of worship
9342 Carygrant	Cary Grant – a British born Hollywood actor
9500 Camelot	King Arthur’s castle (fictional)
9617 Grahanchapman	A Monty Python member
9618 Johncleese	A Monty Python member
9619 Terrygilliam	A Monty Python member
9620 Ericidle	A Monty Python member
9621 Michaelpalin	A Monty Python member
9622 Terryjones	A Monty Python member
11020 Orwell	George Orwell - author of 1984
11626 Church Stretton	A town in the south of Shropshire
12760 Maxwell	JamesMaxwell – a Scottish Mathematician and Physicist
13070 Seanconnery	First actor who played James Bond
16197 Bluepeter	A British children’s TV programme
17078 Sellers	Sir Peter |Sellers - a British comedy actor
18610 Arthurdent	A character from Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
19367 Pink Floyd	A rock group
19383 Rolling Stones	A rock group
20141 Markidger	A British amateur/professional astronomer
20468 Petercook	1960's comedian
20469 Dudley Moore	1960's comedian
24728 Scagell	Robin Scagell - a UK amateur astronomer
24997 Petergabriel	A rock musician and part of Genesis
25924 Douglasadams	Douglas Adams - author of Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
28151 Markknopfler	Mark Knopfler, a guitarist from Dire Straits
37582 Faraday	Sir Michael Faraday - British scientist
39428 Emilybrontë	Emily Brontë - author of Wuthering Heights
39429 Annebrontë	The third of the Bronte sisters
44016 Jimmypage	Jimmy Patrick Page – a composer and guitarist in Led Zepperlin
90481 Wollstonecraft	Mary Wollstonecraft – an early women’s rights campaigner
95824 Elger	Thomas Elger - a British amateur astronomer and lunar observer
95852 Leatherbarrow	Bill Leatherbarrow - past president of the British Astronomical Association and director of the Lunar Section
95882 Longshaw	Nigel Longshaw - amateur astronomer, specializing in lunar drawings
95928 Tonycook	Physics lecturer at Aberystwyth University and amateur astronomer specializing in the Moon
95935 Grego	Peter Grego - amateur astronomer, author of many astronomy books, and a lunar observer
95980 Haroldhill	Amateur astronomer and lunar observer, author of the Lunar Portfolio
127005 Prachett	Terry Prachett - author of the Disc World novels
250840Motörhead	A rock group
266646 Zaphod	A character from Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
342843 Davidbowie	A British rock musician

Want to Learn More About Asteroids, Space etc. ?:

· If you live in Wales, try to visit the Space Guard Centre at Knighton, where they actively check up on the positions of potentially dangerous Near Earth Asteroids.

· Learn more about the International Astronomical Union about how to name objects in the Solar System and Beyond, from their website.

· Have a telescope and want to observe asteroids – then take a look at the Asteroid and Remote Planets Section of the British Astronomical Association

· Want to join a local astronomical society? Try Newtown or Cardiff Astronomical Societies or see the Federation of Astronomical Societies website.

· Want to study BSc/MPhys level Astrophysics, Physics with Planetary and Space Physics, or Space Science and Robotics at Aberystwyth University? – click on the Department of Physics website and explore. Foundation year entry also possible!

Published: Dr Anthony Cook

Department of Physics

IMPACS

University of Aberystwth

Email: atc @ aber.ac.uk

Home Page:

http://users.aber.ac.uk/atc

The information provided on this and other pages by me, Tony Cook (a t c @ a b e r . a c . u k )

is under my own personal responsibility and not that of Aberystwyth University. Similarly, any

opinions expressed are my own and are in no way to be taken as those of A.U.

Department of Physics

The University of Aberystwyth