(6042) Cheshirecat Mars-crossing Asteroid
Discovered on 23 November 1990 by Natori, A., Urata, T. at Yakiimo.
Named for a cat appearing in Lewis Carroll's famous fairy tale Alice in Wonderland . Its unique characteristic is its laughing voice that lingers after the cat fades away. Name and citation proposed by T. Urata.Naming citation (19990202/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Cheshirecat is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Cheshirecat is 3.10 au from the Sun and 3.76 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6042 |
| Provisional designation | 1990 WW2 |
| Orbit class | Mars-crossing Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 10.1 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.05 |
| Orbital period | 5.31 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.04 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.65 – 4.43 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.456 |
| Inclination | 15.9° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.736 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Lewis
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- (270553) Loureed
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All asteroids named after someone called Lewis