(14361) Boscovich Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 February 1988 by Osservatorio San Vittore at Bologna.
Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich (1711-1787), Jesuit professor of mathematics and philosophy at Rome and Pavia, was for some years in Paris and later in Milan, where he founded the Brera Astronomical Observatory. He wrote on the determination of orbits of comets, mathematics and optics.Naming citation (20010109/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Boscovich is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Boscovich is 2.65 au from the Sun and 3.00 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 14361 |
| Provisional designation | 1988 DE |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.61 km (#6,989 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.211 |
| Rotation period | 168 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.2 |
| Orbital period | 4.15 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.58 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.34 – 2.82 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0935 |
| Inclination | 13.2° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.35 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.