| Minorplanet: | yes |
| 1637 Swings | |
| Background: |
|
| Discovered: | 28 August 1936 |
| Mpc Name: | (1637) Swings |
| Alt Names: | 1936 QO1907 YT 1934 FL1934 FP 1936 SD1939 FU 1950 GA |
| Epoch: | 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Observation Arc: | 109.78 yr (40,096 days) |
| Perihelion: | 2.9356 AU |
| Semimajor: | 3.0722 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.0445 |
| Period: | 5.38 yr (1,967 days) |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Inclination: | 14.068° |
| Asc Node: | 21.288° |
| Arg Peri: | 236.17° |
| Dimensions: | km km |
| Abs Magnitude: | 10.4 |
1637 Swings, provisional designation, is a dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 50 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Joseph Hunaerts in 1936, it was named after Belgian astronomer Pol Swings.
Swings was discovered on 28 August 1936, by Belgian astronomer Joseph Hunaerts at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium. In the following month, it was independently discovered by astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa.
The asteroid orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.9–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 5 months (1,967 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic. In 1907, Swings was first identified as at Heidelberg Observatory. However, the body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Uccle in 1936.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Swings surface has an albedo of 0.042, and measures 45.15 and 52.99 kilometers in diameter, respectively. It has an absolute magnitude of 10.4.
As of 2017, the body's spectral type, rotation period and shape remain unknown.
This minor planet was named after Pol Swings (1906–1983), a Belgian astrophysicist, astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union during 1964–1967, who significantly contributed to the understanding of the physics of comets and their spectra. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 .