(4147) Lennon
Minor planet number 4147 has been named in honor of former Beatle John Lennon.
The citation announcing the naming appeared on Minor Planet Circular 16247 (issued on 1990 Apr. 10), from which the following is extracted with permission:
(4147) Lennon = 1983 AY
Discovered 1983 Jan. 12 by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of
the Lowell Observatory.
Named in memory of John Lennon (1940-1980), musician and ex-Beatle.
With Paul McCartney, he wrote the early songs that helped make The Beatles
the most popular group of their generation. Perhaps the most famous Beatles
album is Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which represents the
Lennon-McCartney partnership at its most fertile and innovative. From his
solo recording career, the song that will probably best be remembered is
'Imagine'. Violently anti-war, John, and his wife Yoko, also made many
public demonstrations of their desire for a peaceful world.
About (4147) Lennon
(4147) Lennon is in a 3.63-year elliptical orbit around the sun ranging in distance from 325.0 million km (at perihelion, closest point to the sun) to 381.6 million km (at aphelion, furthest point from the sun).
The next perihelion passage will occur on 2005 Nov. 21.4 UT.
The orbit is inclined by 5.7 degrees to the ecliptic plane (the plane of the earth's orbit about the sun).
There is little information on the physical properties of (4147) Lennon. Even its diameter is uncertain--a range of 7 to 15 km is probable.
You will need a telescope to see this minor planet as its maximum brightness is some 1/4091 of the brightness of the faintest objects that can be seen with the unaided eye.
