(19873) Chentao Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Tao Chen (b. 1980) of Suzhou, Jiangsu, is a well-known amateur astronomer who codiscovered comet C/2008 C1 (Chen-Gao) and who helped organize the fourth International Workshop on Cometary Astronomy in Shanghai in July 2009. The name was suggested by D. W. E. Green.Naming citation (20091004/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Chentao is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Chentao is 2.84 au from the Sun and 3.64 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 19873 |
| Provisional designation | 6632 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.28 |
| Orbital period | 4.93 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.90 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.80 – 2.99 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0327 |
| Inclination | 3.10° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.82 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Tao
All asteroids named after someone called Tao
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites