(9630) Castellion Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 August 1993 by E. W. Elst at Caussols.
Sébastien Castellion (1515-1563) was a French humanist well-known for his generosity and aversion to fanaticism. In his Traité des hérétiques (1553) he denounced Calvin as a monster for ordering Michel Servet burned alive because he didn't accept the trinitarian dogma.Naming citation (20030501/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Castellion is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Castellion is 2.80 au from the Sun and 2.03 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9630 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 PW7 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.82 km (#7,855 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.138 |
| Rotation period | 2.56 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.28 |
| Orbital period | 4.61 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.77 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.34 – 3.21 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.157 |
| Inclination | 2.80° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.32 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Sebastien
All asteroids named after someone called Sebastien
Also discovered on 15 August 1993
- (9377) Metz
- (9629) Servet
- (10137) Thucydides
- (11309) Malus
- (11945) Amsterdam
- (11946) Bayle
- (11947) Kimclijsters
- (20060) Johannforster
- (100122) Alpes-Maritimes