508 Princetonia
Shape of Princetonia from modeled lightcurve | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Raymond Smith Dugan |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Observatory |
| Discovery date | 20 April 1903 |
| Designations | |
| (508) Princetonia | |
| Pronunciation | /prɪnˈstoʊniə/ |
| 1903 LQ | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 107.99 yr (39445 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.1869 AU (476.75 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 3.1353 AU (469.03 Gm) |
| 3.1611 AU (472.89 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0081585 |
| 5.62 yr (2052.8 d) | |
| 25.2307° | |
| 0° 10m 31.332s / day | |
| Inclination | 13.337° |
| 44.223° | |
| 195.015° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 71.175±1.3 km 69.845 ± 1.7 km | |
| Mass | (2.99 ± 0.65) × 1018 kg |
Mean density | 2.09 ± 0.47 g/cm3 |
| 52.8 h (2.20 d) | |
| 0.0441±0.002 | |
| 8.4 | |
508 Princetonia is a large asteroid, a type of minor planet, orbiting in the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Raymond Smith Dugan at Heidelberg, Germany in 1903 and named "Princetonia" for Princeton University in New Jersey in the United States.
Dugan found it during his time at Königstuhl Observatory with Max Wolf in Heidelberg, Germany. At the time he was working on his PhD from Heidelberg University. The asteroid is located in the outer areas of the main asteroid belt and is about 140 km (87 mi) in diameter according to data from IRAS, an infrared space observatory in the 1980s.