(8257) Andycheng Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 28 April 1982 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.
Named in honor of Andrew F. Cheng (b. 1951), planetary scientist at the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. Cheng served as the project scientist on the NEAR mission to (433) Eros and has made significant contributions to a wide variety of solar-system topics, including the study of magnetospheres and investigations of minor-planet surfaces and geodesy using LIDAR techniques. Name proposed by the discoverer and B. E. Clark, and citation written by J. Veverka.Naming citation (19990728/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Andycheng is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Andycheng is 2.59 au from the Sun and 1.98 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8257 |
| Provisional designation | 1982 HO1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.21 km (#12,244 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.333 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.84 |
| Orbital period | 3.28 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.21 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.82 – 2.60 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.177 |
| Inclination | 6.77° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.805 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Andrew
- (5280) Andrewbecker
- (5441) Andymurray
- (6814) Steffl
- (6825) Irvine
- (6947) Andrewdavis
- (7150) McKellar
- (8867) Tubbiolo
- (9999) Wiles
- (10230) Andrewnorton
- (11450) Shearer
- (12506) Pariser
- (12539) Chaikin
All asteroids named after someone called Andrew