(7317) Cabot Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 12 March 1940 by G. Kulin at Konkoly.

Named for Giovanni Caboto or John Cabot (1449/50–1498/99), who made the first recorded landfall in North America since the Norse voyages. Genoese by birth and Venetian by citizenship, Cabot moved to England in 1484, apparently motivated by his idea of reaching Asia by sailing westward across the Atlantic. In 1497 he and his crew of 18 sailed from Bristol in a tiny vessel, the Matthew, arriving off Newfoundland on June 24, after which he explored the coast southward to Nova Scotia. His account of the sea swarming with fish led to great interest in the rich fishery around the ‘New found land’. Named to commemorate 500 years of continued contact between Europe and Canada. Name suggested and citation prepared by G. C. L. Aikman.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 4, #10, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

🐶 Cabot as a dog name

Where Cabot is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Cabot is 2.25 au from the Sun and 1.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	7317
Provisional designation	1940 ED
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	5.36 km (#9,945 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.185
Rotation period	2.24 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.08
Orbital period	3.56 years
Semi-major axis	2.33 au
Perihelion – aphelion	1.98 – 2.68 au
Eccentricity	0.151
Inclination	3.98°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	0.972 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Giovanni

All asteroids named after someone called Giovanni

Also discovered on 12 March 1940

(2738) Viracocha

More named asteroids discovered by G. Kulin

All 21

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