Planet Keay

Minor Planet 5007 KEAY

The International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Circular dated 1997 February 22 announced:

(5007) Keay = 1990 UH2

Discovered 1990 October 20 by R. H. McNaught at Siding Spring. Named in honor of Colin Stewart Lindsay Keay (b.1930) past president of IAU Commission 22 and Chairman of the IAU Working Group on the Prevention of Interplanetary Pollution, who has made several major contributions to our understanding of the meteoroidal flux to the Earth. His well-controlled radar patrol from the University of Canterbury during 1960-65 in collaboration with Clifton Ellyett remains our best knowledge of the southern hemisphere influx. Since 1965 Keay has worked at the University of Newcastle (NSW), one of his most noteworthy achievements being the development of a physical theory for the production of electrophonic sounds from bright fireballs.

Name proposed by the discoverer following a suggestion by D I Steel, who prepared the citation, and an endorsement by B G Marsden.

ORBITAL	ELEMENTS
Perihelion	= 2.18 A.U.
Aphelion	= 3.18 A.U.
Peri. longitude	= 162 deg.
Eccentricity	= 0.187
Inclination	= 13 deg.
Period	= 4.39 years

(Based on pre-discovery images found on plates dating back to 1975)

PHYSICAL	DATA
Diameter	= 10-15 Km.
Brightness	= 13-14 mag.

 

When Peter Lewis, resident cartoonist for the Newcastle Herald, heard the news he graciously produced this cartoon which was published on 1997 March 3.