(12152) Aratus Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 25 March 1971 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Hellenistic poet Aratus of Soli (c.315/310-before 235 B.C.) was the author of “Phaenomena” (’Appearances’), an influential didactic poem composed around 275 B.C. that describes the celestial sphere, the constellations and weather prognostications based on their rising and setting.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #11, 6), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Aratus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Aratus is 2.27 au from the Sun and 1.37 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12152 |
| Provisional designation | 1287 T-1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.67 |
| Orbital period | 3.35 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.24 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.19 – 2.28 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0206 |
| Inclination | 1.77° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.18 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 25 March 1971
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- (7314) Pevsner
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