(9161) Beaufort Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 January 1987 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) was an admiral of the British Navy who devised the scale for classifying wind force at sea. Since the (originally 13) force numbers of the Beaufort scale made no reference to the speed of the wind, many attempts have been made to relate the numbers with wind velocity.Naming citation (20030106/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
👶 Beaufort as a baby name🐶 Beaufort as a dog name
Where Beaufort is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Beaufort is 2.82 au from the Sun and 3.78 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9161 |
| Provisional designation | 1987 BZ1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.31 km (#8,491 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.255 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.45 |
| Orbital period | 4.33 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.66 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.30 – 3.01 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.134 |
| Inclination | 14.1° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.36 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Francis
- (9830) Franciswasiak
- (12845) Crick
- (20610) Franciswilliams
- (21789) Frankwasser
- (22148) Francislee
- (22341) Francispoulenc
- (22567) Zenisek
- (52057) Clarkhowell
- (61402) Franciseveritt
- (92685) Cordellorenz
- (95802) Francismuir
- (124104) Balcony
All asteroids named after someone called Francis