3043 San Diego is an inner main belt asteroid discovered by Eleanor F. Helin on September 30, 1982 at Palomar Observatory. It is a member of the Hungaria family. Its provisional designation was 1982 SA, but on May 3, 1984, it was named after the city of San Diego, California.
The asteroid name was given to the city due to the council's efforts in the dark-sky movement. Palomar mountain is located within San Diego County, California, and the astronomers at the site were concerned that the light pollution from the city would ruin their ability to use the observatory. The council had voted to use Low-Pressure Sodium (LPS) vapor lamps for their street lights. This fixture only emitted light at one wavelength, which astronomers could readily filter out.
Famous quotes containing the word san:
“The gold-digger in the ravines of the mountains is as much a gambler as his fellow in the saloons of San Francisco. What difference does it make whether you shake dirt or shake dice? If you win, society is the loser.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)