886 Washingtonia

886 Washingtonia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on 16 November 1917, from Washington, D.C., and is named after the 1st President of the United States, George Washington. Washingtonia may be a "fresh asteroid" that had its surface refreshed within the last 10 million years via collision(s).

Discovery circumstances

Credit for the discovery of 886 Washingtonia has been given to George Peters of the US Naval Observatory, who was the first to report it. The object was, however, observed four days earlier by Margaret Harwood, who was advised not to report it as a new discovery because "it was inappropriate that a woman should be thrust into the limelight with such a claim". The first woman to be credited with the discovery of a minor planet was Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn, eleven years later.