2000 Herschel

2000 Herschel is an asteroid discovered on July 29, 1960 by Joachim Schubart at Sonneberg Observatory. It is named in honour of the English astronomer of German origin William Herschel who discovered Uranus.

Analysis of the light curve for this object appears to show that it is tumbling, with rotation occurring about the non-principal axis. The rotation period is estimated as 130 ± 3 days, during which time the magnitude of the object varies by 1.16 ± 0.05 in magnitude. The relatively high orbital eccentricity of this object causes it to come close to the orbit of the planet Mars. This means there is a chance it will eventually collide with the planet, with the odds of a collision estimated at 18% per billion orbits.

Famous quotes containing the word herschel:

    Science is the knowledge of many, orderly and methodically
    digested and arranged, so as to become attainable by one. The
    knowledge of reasons and their conclusions constitutes abstract, that of causes and their effects, and of the laws of nature, natural science.
    —John Frederick William Herschel (1792–1871)