2934 Aristophanes

2934 Aristophanes

Discovery
Discovered by	Palomar–Leiden survey C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-Groeneveld T. Gehrels
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	25 September 1960
Designations
MPC designation	2934 Aristophanes
Named after	Aristophanes
Alternative names	4006 P–L · 1971 OQ1 1977 RM5 · 1980 FC9
Minor planet category	main-belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	54.88 yr (20,044 days)
Aphelion	3.3289 AU
Perihelion	3.0087 AU
Semi-major axis	3.1688 AU
Eccentricity	0.0505
Orbital period	5.64 yr (2060.4 days)
Mean anomaly	319.67°
Inclination	8.7961°
Longitude of ascending node	202.24°
Argument of perihelion	89.861°
Earth MOID	2.0103 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	27.72 km
Geometric albedo	0.0761
Spectral type	Ch (SMASSII)
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.6 mag

2934 Aristophanes, alternatively designated 4006 P–L, is a 28-kilometer sized main belt asteroid, which was discovered by Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels in 1960. It is named after Aristophanes (445–385 B.C.), the ancient Greek comic dramatist.

The designation P–L stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's 48-inch Samuel Oschin telescope and shipped the photographic plates to Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden Observatory. The trio are credited with several thousand asteroid discoveries.