(7994) Bethellen Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 February 1983 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.
Named in honor of Beth Ellen Clark (b. 1964) on the occasion of the 1999 “Asteroids, Comets, Meteors meeting” at Cornell University. Clark served as the lead organizer of that meeting with dedication and an admirable combination of firm organization and style. Her Ph.D. thesis was on the mixing model analysis of spectra of minor planets to investigate space-weathering effects in relating these spectra to laboratory spectra of meteorites. She has been an associate member of the NEAR science team, and she has recently been appointed team leader for the near-infrared spectrometer to be flown aboard the MUSES-C spacecraft. Citation provided by A. W. Harris.Naming citation (19990728/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Bethellen is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Bethellen is 2.92 au from the Sun and 3.86 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7994 |
| Provisional designation | 1983 CQ2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 17.4 km (#2,592 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0560 |
| Rotation period | 165 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.87 |
| Orbital period | 5.35 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.06 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.75 – 3.37 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.102 |
| Inclination | 0.0493° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.76 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Beth
- (16091) Malchiodi
- (19619) Bethbell
- (28676) Bethkoester
- (174362) Bethwillman
- (222403) Bethchristie
- (246837) Bethfabinsky
- (333157) Buck
All asteroids named after someone called Beth
Also discovered on 15 February 1983
- (3367) Alex
- (3413) Andriana
- (3525) Paul
- (3580) Avery
- (4079) Britten
- (7275) Earlcarpenter
- (7512) Monicalazzarin