2309 Mr. Spock

Infobox Planet
minorplanet = yes
width = 25em
bgcolour = #FFFFC0
apsis =
name = Mr. Spock
symbol =


caption =
discovery = yes
discovery_ref =
discoverer = James B. Gibson
discovery_site = Yale-Columbia Station at El Leoncito, Argentina
discovered = August 16, 1971
designations = yes
mp_name = 2309
alt_names = 1971 QX1, 1935 SN1, 1948 EJ1, 1956 TL, 1974 CU, 1977 SF3
mp_category =
orbit_ref =
epoch = November 30, 2008
aphelion = 3.2760908
perihelion = 2.7482684
semimajor =
eccentricity = 0.0876147
period = 1909.5002944
avg_speed =
inclination = 10.98399
asc_node = 157.29891
mean_anomaly = 304.48204
arg_peri = 270.89064
satellites =
physical_characteristics = yes
dimensions = diameter 21.29 km
mass =
density =
surface_grav =
escape_velocity =
sidereal_day =
axial_tilt =
pole_ecliptic_lat =
pole_ecliptic_lon =
albedo = 0.1177
temperatures=
temp_name1 =
mean_temp_1 =
max_temp_1 =
temp_name2 =
max_temp_2 =
spectral_type =
abs_magnitude = 11.30"This article is about the asteroid. For other uses, see Spock (disambiguation)."

2309 Mr. Spock (1971 QX1) is a Main-belt Asteroid discovered on August 16, 1971 by the comet, asteroid, and Milky Way astronomer James B. Gibson at the Yale-Columbia Station at El Leoncito, Argentina.

The asteroid is about 21 km in diameter. Its name does not come directly from the character of Mr. Spock in , but rather indirectly from the discoverer's male cat who was named after the intelligent science fiction character. Like his namesake, the feline Mr. Spock was "imperturbable, logical, intelligent, and had pointed ears". The cat had selected the discoverer and accompanied him on astronomical observations carried out in the United States, Africa, and South America. The naming created an uproar, and the International Astronomical Union subsequently decided that pet animal names were to be discouraged. A number of other asteroids have since been named after Star Trek characters, as well as after musicians and other figures in pop culture.

References

* MPC 10042, "Minor Planet Circulars", 1985 September 29.
* "Dictionary of Minor Planet Names", 5th Edition, Lutz D. Schmadel, Springer, 2003, ISBN 3540002383.
* "Observing Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, and the Zodiacal Light", Stephen J. Edberg and David H. Levy, cloth, Cambridge University Press, 1994, ISBN 0521420032 [ISBN 978-0521420037] .

External links

* [http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2309 Mr. Spock (1971 QX1) JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 2309 Mr. Spock (1971 QX1)]
* [http://www.swisr.org/col5.html Name those asteroids] – "In Our Skies" sample column (February 13, 1998)