(48715) Balbinot Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 13 September 1996 by Osservatorio San Vittore at Bologna.
Roberto Balbinot (b. 1956) is an Italian theoretical physicist who teaches General Relativity at the Bologna University. His fields of research include acoustic black holes, quantum gravity, and field and string theories.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2017-06-09), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Balbinot is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Balbinot is 2.83 au from the Sun and 3.17 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 48715 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 RP2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.26 km (#5,574 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0750 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.91 |
| Orbital period | 5.67 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.81 – 3.55 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.117 |
| Inclination | 4.51° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.82 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Roberto
- (4881) Robmackintosh
- (7323) Robersomma
- (7794) Sanvito
- (8742) Bonazzoli
- (9478) Caldeyro
- (10579) Diluca
- (10590) Ragazzoni
- (12470) Pinotti
- (14919) Robertohaver
- (14964) Robertobacci
- (16996) Dahir
- (19224) Orosei
All asteroids named after someone called Roberto