(8549) Alcide Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 30 March 1994 by Farra d'Isonzo at Farra d'Isonzo.
Named in memory of Alcide Bittesini (1913-1981), father of Luciano Bittesini, one of the Farra d'Isonzo amateur astronomers who discovered this minor planet. A natural sciences high-school teacher in Italy, Alcide Bittesini kindled his then-nine-year-old son's interest in astronomy by showing him a comet, using a handmade telescope constructed from a tin can, a pair of glasses and an eyepiece from his microscope.Naming citation (19990202/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Alcide is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Alcide is 2.60 au from the Sun and 1.63 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8549 |
| Provisional designation | 1994 FS |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.34 km (#11,967 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.196 |
| Rotation period | 3.70 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.28 |
| Orbital period | 3.80 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.44 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.98 – 2.89 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.188 |
| Inclination | 1.88° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.962 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.