(16953) Besicovitch Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 27 May 1998 by P. G. Comba at Prescott.
Abram Samuilovitch Besicovitch (1891-1970) taught at various institutions in the Soviet Union and later at the University of Cambridge. He had an astounding geometric intuition and proved many counter-intuitive results, particularly with regard to sets of points of fractal dimension.Naming citation (20010109/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Besicovitch is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Besicovitch is 2.55 au from the Sun and 2.06 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 16953 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 KE5 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 17.1 km (#2,651 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0460 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.0 |
| Orbital period | 5.59 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.15 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.49 – 3.80 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.208 |
| Inclination | 14.8° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.49 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Abram
All asteroids named after someone called Abram