Shafter

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Shafter, California

Shafter is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is located 18 miles (29 km) west-northwest of Bakersfield. The population was 16,988 at the 2010 census, up from 12,736 at the 2000 census.

The city is located along State Route 43. Suburbs of Shafter include Myricks Corner, North Shafter, Smith's Corner, and Thomas Lane.

History

The city of Shafter began as a loading dock along the Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way. The community was named for General William Rufus Shafter who commanded US Forces in Cuba during the Spanish–American War. Property was sold beginning in 1914 and the city incorporated in 1938.

The first post office opened in 1898, moved in 1902, closed in 1905. A new postal service started in 1914.

Also of historical note, Shafter is home to Minter Field, which began operations in June 1941 and saw heavy use during World War II. Approximately 7,000 troops were stationed at the airstrip which hosted up to 600 prisoners of war as well. Today it is publicly owned and administered by the Minter Field Airport District and serves as an industrial center and airport for crop dusters and private aircraft. The Minter Field Museum is maintained on location as well.

6566 Shafter

6566 Shafter, provisional designation 1992 UB₂, is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, roughly 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Japanese astronomer Takeshi Urata at Nihondaira Observatory in Shimizu, Japan, on 25 October 1992.

The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,255 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.17 and is tilted by 4 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. Little is known about the asteroids size, composition, albedo and rotation, despite having a well-observed orbit with the lowest possible uncertainty (i.e. a condition code of 0) and an observation arc that spans over a period of 40 years.

Based on its absolute magnitude of 14.0, its diameter could be anywhere between 4 and 9 kilometers, assuming an albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25. Since asteroids in the inner main-belt are often of a silicaceous rather than of a carbonaceous composition, with relatively high albedos, typically around 0.22, the asteroid's diameter might be on the lower end of NASA's published conversion table, as the higher the reflectivity (albedo), the smaller the body's diameter for a given brightness (absolute magnitude).