6229 Tursachan

Tursachan

Discovery
Discovered by	B. A. Skiff
Discovery site	Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory
Discovery date	November 4, 1983
Designations
MPC designation	6229
Alternative names	1983 VN7
Orbital characteristics
Epoch May 14, 2008
Aphelion	3.6527658
Perihelion	2.5014986
Eccentricity	0.1870682
Orbital period	1971.5947956
Mean anomaly	205.01349
Inclination	1.64735
Longitude of ascending node	146.31037
Argument of perihelion	235.15381
Physical characteristics
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.8

6229 Tursachan (1983 VN7) is a main-belt asteroid discovered on November 4, 1983 by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory.

Citation

The name is "Standing Stones" in Gaelic, a term used to refer to the stones placed during neolithic times into small or large groups, often into circles, throughout the British Isles. Many of these arrangements exhibit astronomical alignments, and are thought to have been used in at least some cases to track the progression of seasons and mark the occurrence of other significant astronomical events. The name was suggested by Alice Cathryne Dennis, seventh-grade student at The Mountain School in Flagstaff, Arizona, as winner of a contest to name this asteroid in conjunction with the 1997 Flagstaff Festival of Science. Citation prepared by C. B. Luginbuhl.

External links

• JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 6229 Tursachan
• Outer Hebrides website discussing naming process