[3][7] Horus was discovered on 24 September 1960, by Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden, on photographic plates taken by Tom Gehrels at Palomar.
On the same date, the trio of astronomers also discovered 1912 Anubis, 1923 Osiris and 5011 Ptah.
Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out.
[5][6] This minor planet was named after Horus, the falcon-headed king of the sky and the stars, and son of the Egyptian god Osiris.
[3] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 November 1979 (M.P.C.