(101955) Bennu Apollo
Discovered on 11 September 1999 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Bennu was an Egyptian mythological figure associated with Osiris, Atum and Ra. This minor planet is the target of the OSIRIS-REx sample return mission. OSIRIS-REx's Touch-and-Go Sampler evokes Bennu's image as a heron. Name suggested by Michael Toler Puzio (b. 2004) via a naming contest for students.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2013-04-25), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Bennu is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Bennu is 1.36 au from the Sun and 2.18 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 101955 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 RQ36 |
| Orbit class | Apollo · near-Earth · potentially hazardous |
| Diameter | 0.484 km (#17,431 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0440 |
| Rotation period | 4.30 hours |
| Spectral type | B |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 20.21 |
| Orbital period | 1.20 years |
| Semi-major axis | 1.13 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 0.897 – 1.36 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.204 |
| Inclination | 6.03° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.00322 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 11 September 1999
- (12583) Buckjean
- (13396) Midavaine
- (16065) Borel
- (20517) Judycrystal
- (20597) Pickersgill
- (20613) Chibaken
- (21685) Francomallia
- (21686) Koschny
- (21687) Filopanti
- (36061) Haldane
- (36169) Grosseteste
- (38270) Wettzell