(20053) Cavefish Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 21 March 1993 by UESAC at La Silla.
There are over 250 fish species that are adapted to living in subterranean caves. Small, blind, and lacking pigment, cavefishes are evolutionary marvels. Comparisons between the DNA of different cavefish species can be used to unravel geologic history. Many cavefishes are threatened by human activity.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 4, #11, 17), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Cavefish is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Cavefish is 2.55 au from the Sun and 2.89 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 20053 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 FK29 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.42 km (#14,188 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.200 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.82 |
| Orbital period | 4.30 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.64 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.33 – 2.95 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.118 |
| Inclination | 14.2° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.34 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 21 March 1993
- (5630) Billschaefer
- (6102) Visby
- (6528) Boden
- (6796) Sundsvall
- (6797) Ostersund
- (7595) Vaxjo
- (7831) Francois-Xavier
- (8535) Pellesvanslos
- (8536) Mans
- (8537) Billochbull
- (8538) Gammelmaja
- (8697) Olofsson