(12539) Chaikin Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 16 July 1998 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.
Andrew L. Chaikin (b. 1956) is a renowned author and space historian whose interests include the Apollo program. His landmark book A Man on the Moon served as the basis for the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, which dramatized the first lunar exploration.Naming citation (20021120/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Chaikin is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Chaikin is 2.88 au from the Sun and 1.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12539 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 OP2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 8.63 km (#6,036 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0860 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.85 |
| Orbital period | 4.52 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.73 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.57 – 2.90 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0602 |
| Inclination | 3.73° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.56 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Andrew
- (5280) Andrewbecker
- (5441) Andymurray
- (6814) Steffl
- (6825) Irvine
- (6947) Andrewdavis
- (7150) McKellar
- (8257) Andycheng
- (8867) Tubbiolo
- (9999) Wiles
- (10230) Andrewnorton
- (11450) Shearer
- (12506) Pariser
All asteroids named after someone called Andrew