21062 Iasky

21062 Iasky
Discovery
Discovered by C. S. Shoemaker
E. M. Shoemaker
Discovery site Palomar Obs.
Discovery date 13 May 1991
Designations
MPC designation (21062) Iasky
1991 JW1
main-belt
background
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 12169 days (33.32 yr)
Aphelion 3.1485359 AU (471.01427 Gm)
Perihelion 2.9393948 AU (439.72720 Gm)
3.043965 AU (455.3707 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.0343534
5.31 yr (1939.8 d)
98.729489°
0° 11m 8.109s / day
Inclination 23.60013°
149.30896°
217.24898°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
 19.034±0.210 km[1]
0.063±0.004[1]
12.3[1]

    21062 Iasky, provisional designation 1991 JW1, is a main-belt asteroid discovered on May 13, 1991, by C. S. Shoemaker and E. M. Shoemaker at Palomar.

    In his 1994 book Pale Blue Dot, Astronomer Carl Sagan speculated on the nature of 1991JW, saying it "has an orbit very much like the Earth's and is even easier to get to than 4660 Nereus. But its orbit seems too similar to the Earth's for it to be a natural object. Perhaps it's some lost upper stage of the Saturn V Apollo moon rocket".[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "21062 Iasky (1991 JW1)". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
    2. ↑ Sagan, Carl (1994). Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. New York: Random House. p. 247. ISBN 0-345-37659-5.


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