(22442) Blaha Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 14 October 1996 by Ticha, J., Tichy, M. at Klet.
John Elmer Blaha (b. 1942) is a U.S. astronaut who made five space missions from 1989 to 1997. Four of them were space-shuttle missions. For the fifth he spent four months aboard the MIR space station.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #21, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Blaha is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Blaha is 2.22 au from the Sun and 2.52 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 22442 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 TM9 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 1.98 km (#17,049 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.259 |
| Rotation period | 4.38 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.88 |
| Orbital period | 3.24 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.13 – 2.25 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0271 |
| Inclination | 0.876° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.12 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called John
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All asteroids named after someone called John
Also discovered on 14 October 1996
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