(8344) Babette Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 25 January 1987 by Niijima, T., Urata, T. at Ojima.
Babette (“Babbie”) Whipple (née Samelson, b. 1918) was a teacher, researcher and psychotherapist, and as the wife of astronomer Fred L. Whipple was a firm believer in supporting science and in encouraging social contacts among scientists (and scientists' spouses) as a way of promoting interdisciplinary discussion.Naming citation (20080819/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
👶 Babette as a baby name🐶 Babette as a dog name
Where Babette is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Babette is 2.29 au from the Sun and 1.56 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8344 |
| Provisional designation | 1987 BB |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.69 km (#15,864 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.292 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.79 |
| Orbital period | 3.67 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.38 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.00 – 2.76 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.159 |
| Inclination | 0.389° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.01 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.