(12607) Alcaeus Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Alcaeus (ca. 620 B.C.-ca. 580 B.C.) was a Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. His songs are as famous as those of Sappho. Many of his songs were translated into Latin and influenced Theocrites and Horace.Naming citation (20071124/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Alcaeus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Alcaeus is 2.75 au from the Sun and 2.82 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12607 |
| Provisional designation | 2058 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.92 km (#9,055 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0800 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.88 |
| Orbital period | 4.32 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.65 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.56 – 2.75 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0354 |
| Inclination | 2.19° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.54 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites