(8978) Barbatus Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 16 October 1977 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named for the bird Gypaetus barbatus, or lammergeier.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 2, #9, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Barbatus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Barbatus is 2.99 au from the Sun and 3.98 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8978 |
| Provisional designation | 3109 T-3 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.12 km (#5,675 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0440 |
| Rotation period | 7.26 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.81 |
| Orbital period | 5.82 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.23 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.97 – 3.50 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0815 |
| Inclination | 0.284° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.96 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 16 October 1977
- (3798) de Jager
- (3936) Elst
- (4044) Erikhog
- (4108) Rakos
- (4722) Agelaos
- (4753) Phidias
- (4754) Panthoos
- (5610) Balster
- (5699) Munch
- (5700) Homerus
- (5984) Lysippus
- (6055) Brunelleschi