(6722) Bunichi Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 23 January 1991 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.
Named in honor of Bunichi Saito (b. 1925), professor emeritus at Niigata University and an expert on the earth's upper atmosphere, particularly the airglow. He is also an authority on the poet and novelist Kenji Miyazawa and currently directs the museum at the Kenji Miyazawa Iihatobu Center. Name proposed by the discoverers following a suggestion by A. Fujii and Y. Yoneda.Naming citation (19980411/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Bunichi is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Bunichi is 3.59 au from the Sun and 4.18 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6722 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 BG2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 15.1 km (#3,108 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0700 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.89 |
| Orbital period | 5.68 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.62 – 3.75 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.177 |
| Inclination | 2.82° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.64 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.