4451 Grieve
4451 Grieve, provisional designation , is a stony asteroid and large Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the central asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 9 May 1988, by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California. The S-type asteroid is likely elongated and has a rotation period of 6.9 hours. It was named for Canadian geologist Richard Grieve. Orbit and classification Grieve is a Mars-crossing asteroid, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.666 AU. Members of this dynamically unstable group are located between the main belt and near-Earth populations. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.6–3.6 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,535 days; semi-major axis of 2.6 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.38 and an inclination of 28° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar in 1954, or 34 years prior to its official discovery observation. Physical characteristics In the SMASS classification, Grieve is a common, stony S-type asteroid. In the Bus-DeMeo taxonomy it is a Svw-type. Naming This minor planet was named after Canadian geologist Richard Grieve, chief of geophysics with the Geological Survey of Canada. He