3854 George, provisional designation 1983 EA, is a stony Hungaria asteroid and Mars-crosser from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 13 March 1983, by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California.[1] The unlikely synchronous binary system has a rotation period of 3.3 hours.[4] It was named after the discoverer’s father-in-law, George Shoemaker.[1]
. . . 3854 George . . .
George is a member of the Mars-crossing asteroids, a dynamically unstable group located between the main belt and the near-Earth populations, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.66 AU.[3] It is also a dynamical member of the Hungaria group.[1][4]
It orbits the Sun in the innermost asteroid belt at a distance of 1.6–2.1 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (951 days; semi-major axis of 1.89 AU). Its orbit has a relatively low eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The body’s observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in March 1983.[1]
Although George is a member of the dynamical Hungaria group, it is not a member of the collisional Hungaria family but an unrelated, non-family asteroid from the background population, according to Nesvorý, Milani and Knežević.[5][11][12] However, in a 2014-abstract from the Asteroids, Comets, Meteors Conference in Helsinki (ACM 2014), George was mentioned as the principal body of a newly discovered low-density family in the Hungaria region.[13]
This minor planet was named after George Estel Shoemaker (1904–1960), father of Carolyn Shoemaker‘s husband Eugene Shoemaker (1928–1997),[2] who has previously been credited as the second discoverer.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 12 December 1989 (M.P.C. 15574).[14]
. . . 3854 George . . .