6478 Gault
6478 Gault, provisional designation 1988 JC1, is a Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles) in diameter. The likely S-type asteroid was discovered on 12 May 1988, by astronomer couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California. It was named in honor of planetary geologist Donald Gault. In January 2019, it was found that Gault shows cometary activity and that it has multiple tails, making it an active asteroid. It was subsequently realised that it had been active since at least 2013.
Gault's two comet-like tails seen from Hubble on February 5th 2019 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Shoemaker E. Shoemaker |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 12 May 1988 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (6478) Gault |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɔːlt/ |
Named after | Donald Gault (American planetary geologist) |
Alternative designations | 1988 JC1 · 1995 KC1 |
Minor planet category | main-belt · (inner) Phocaea · MBC |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.10 yr (22,681 d) |
| Earliest precovery date | 11 December 1958 |
| Aphelion | 2.7513 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8587 AU |
Semi-major axis | 2.3050 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.1936 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 3.50 yr (1,278 d) |
Mean anomaly | 98.412° |
Mean motion | 0° 16m 53.76s / day |
| Inclination | 22.813° |
Longitude of ascending node | 183.538° |
| 2023-Jul-04 | |
| 83.172° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 2.8+0.4 −0.2 km |
Synodic rotation period | 2.4929±0.0003 h |
| 0.26±0.05 0.13±0.04 | |
| S (est. family-based) | |
| 14.4 | |
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