(12790) Cernan Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 October 1995 by Klet at Klet.
Eugene Andrew Cernan (b. 1934), U.S. astronaut, was commander of the Apollo 17 mission, which concluded the Apollo Lunar program in 1972.Naming citation (20001111/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Cernan is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Cernan is 2.40 au from the Sun and 3.04 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12790 |
| Provisional designation | 1995 UT2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.87 km (#10,867 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0680 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.44 |
| Orbital period | 3.71 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.40 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.20 – 2.59 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0827 |
| Inclination | 4.34° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.19 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Eugene
- (4320) Jarosewich
- (8688) Delaunay
- (11726) Edgerton
- (11756) Geneparker
- (13178) Catalan
- (15363) Ysaye
- (15822) Genefahnestock
- (32564) Glass
- (34524) Eugenerivera
- (34838) Lazowski
- (55397) Hackman
- (207319) Eugenemar
All asteroids named after someone called Eugene
Also discovered on 24 October 1995
- (6802) Cernovice
- (7493) Hirzo
- (7672) Hawking
- (8900) AAVSO
- (11105) Puchnarova
- (17611) Jozkakubik
- (32939) Nasimi