6181 Bobweber, provisional designation 1986 RW, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 September 1986, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California, and named after astronomer Robert Weber.^[2]

Orbit and classification

The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–3.0 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,384 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] The first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1954, which extended the asteroid's observation arc by 32 years prior to its discovery observation.^[2]

Physical characteristics

Naming

This minor planet was named in memory of Robert Weber (1926–2008), physicist and discoverer of minor planets at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, developer of the Deep Space Satellite Tracking Network. He also co-developed and was credited with the first discoveries made by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site at White Sands Missile Range in Socorro, New Mexico. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 21 March 2008 (M.P.C. 62353).^[2][7]

Notes

References

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 2017-12-16 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (5001)-(10000) – Minor Planet Center
• 6181 Bobweber at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 6181 Bobweber at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters