(19148) Alaska Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 28 December 1989 by E. W. Elst at Haute Provence.
While searching for de la Croyère's mythical land, the Second Kamchatka expedition reached Alaska in July 1741. Georg Wilhelm Steller, the expedition's naturalist, spotted the blue jay Cyanocitta stelleri, a bird he recognized as not native to Asia.Naming citation (20060809/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
🐶 Alaska as a dog name🐱 Alaska as a cat name
Where Alaska is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Alaska is 3.58 au from the Sun and 2.82 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 19148 |
| Provisional designation | 1989 YA5 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 11.0 km (#4,581 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.122 |
| Rotation period | 2.94 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.66 |
| Orbital period | 5.51 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.12 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.65 – 3.59 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.150 |
| Inclination | 19.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.71 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 28 December 1989
- (5778) Jurafrance
- (7755) Haute-Provence
- (8491) Joelle-gilles
- (11875) Rhone
- (15249) Capodimonte
- (17445) Avatcha