(5798) Burnett Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 13 September 1980 by S. J. Bus at Palomar.
As a professor at the California Institute of Technology, Donald Burnett (b. 1937) investigates the chemical evolution of the solar system through studies of nucleosynthesis and elemental abundances. He is lead investigator for the Genesis mission that will collect particles from the solar wind.Naming citation (20020624/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Burnett is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Burnett is 2.37 au from the Sun and 1.85 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 5798 |
| Provisional designation | 1980 RL7 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 8.64 km (#6,028 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.239 |
| Rotation period | 7.48 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.61 |
| Orbital period | 4.13 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.57 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.33 – 2.82 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0950 |
| Inclination | 8.70° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.34 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.