8318 Averroes

Averroes

Discovery
Discovered by	Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels
Discovery site	Palomar Observatory
Discovery date	September 29, 1973
Designations
MPC designation	8318
Named after	Averroes
Alternative names	1306 T-2
Orbital characteristics
Epoch May 14, 2008
Aphelion	3.6776781
Perihelion	2.6990615
Eccentricity	0.1534666
Orbital period	2079.4641822
Mean anomaly	343.61989
Inclination	0.51451
Longitude of ascending node	112.94364
Argument of perihelion	297.40742
Physical characteristics
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.5

8318 Averroes (1306 T-2) is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 29, 1973 by Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory.

This asteroid was named in honor of Muhammad ibn Rushd, a 12th-century Muslim polymath from Andalusia, whose many scientific accomplishments include a study of astronomy. The name "ibn Rushd" was Latinized to "Averroes", as his commentaries on Aristotle were being translated into Latin, bringing knowledge of that famous philosopher back to Christendom, where it had been nearly forgotten. These kinds of Latin translations of the 12th century brought classical and Islamic knowledge into Europe, spurring the Renaissance.

External links

• JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 8318 Averroes