3163 Randi
Encyclopedia
Asteroid
3163 Randi was discovered on August 28, 1981 by Charles T. Kowal
at Palomar Observatory
, California. It has an orbital period
of 3.705 years and a semi-major axis of 2.395 AU
and is a Mars-crosser asteroid
.
It is named in honour of the magician and scientific skeptic James Randi
.
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
3163 Randi was discovered on August 28, 1981 by Charles T. Kowal
Charles T. Kowal
Charles Thomas Kowal was an American astronomer.He discovered two moons of Jupiter: Leda in 1974 and Themisto in 1975, although the latter was lost and not rediscovered until 2000....
at Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...
, California. It has an orbital period
Orbital period
The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
of 3.705 years and a semi-major axis of 2.395 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
and is a Mars-crosser asteroid
Mars-crosser asteroid
A Mars-crosser is an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars. The known numbered Mars-crossers are listed here. They include the two numbered Mars trojans 5261 Eureka and ....
.
It is named in honour of the magician and scientific skeptic James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
.