(10478) Alsabti Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 November 1981 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.
Abdul Athem Alsabti (b. 1945) introduced astronomy teaching into Iraq in 1970, was project leader in building the National Astronomical Observatory, founded the Iraq Astronomical Society and continues with astronomical projects both for the Arab-speaking world and in the U.K. The citation was written by D. McNally.Naming citation (20011101/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Alsabti is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Alsabti is 3.23 au from the Sun and 3.59 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 10478 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 WO |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 10.9 km (#4,613 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.178 |
| Rotation period | 3.49 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.52 |
| Orbital period | 5.19 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.00 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.72 – 3.27 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0913 |
| Inclination | 11.1° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.75 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Abdul
All asteroids named after someone called Abdul
Also discovered on 24 November 1981
- (2633) Bishop
- (2708) Burns
- (2813) Zappala
- (3172) Hirst
- (3173) McNaught
- (3454) Lieske
- (3853) Haas
- (3944) Halliday
- (4024) Ronan
- (4025) Ridley
- (5500) Twilley
- (6628) Dondelia