(9860) Archaeopteryx Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 August 1991 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Archaeopteryx is the early bird that had a dinosaur-like skeleton, a bird-like skull and teeth in the jaws. It lived during the Upper Jurassic. Feathers were preserved as impressions in rocks.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #15, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Archaeopteryx is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Archaeopteryx is 3.23 au from the Sun and 2.49 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9860 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 PW9 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 12.4 km (#3,940 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0800 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.43 |
| Orbital period | 5.63 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.16 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.94 – 3.39 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0704 |
| Inclination | 9.97° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.93 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 6 August 1991
- (5447) Lallement
- (6404) Vanavara
- (7062) Meslier
- (8279) Cuzco
- (8672) Morse
- (8857) Cercidiphyllum
- (8858) Cornus
- (9342) Carygrant
- (10781) Ritter
- (12298) Brecht
- (13064) Haemhouts
- (15278) Paquet