(8318) Averroes Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named for Averroes (1126-1198), whose Arabian name was Ibn Roschd Abdul Walid and who studied law and medicine in Córdoba. He brought together the philosophy of Aristotle, Islam and Christianity. Both Islam and the Christian church, especially Thomas Aquinas, condemned him. Most of his publications have been translated into Latin.Naming citation (19981005/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Averroes is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Averroes is 3.07 au from the Sun and 3.64 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8318 |
| Provisional designation | 1306 T-2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 10.2 km (#5,013 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0750 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.7 |
| Orbital period | 5.68 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.66 – 3.70 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.163 |
| Inclination | 0.517° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.67 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 29 September 1973
- (2049) Grietje
- (4357) Korinthos
- (4549) Burkhardt
- (4721) Atahualpa
- (4752) Myron
- (4876) Strabo
- (4978) Seitz
- (5151) Weerstra
- (5197) Rottmann
- (5243) Clasien
- (5244) Amphilochos
- (5266) Rauch