(8452) Clay Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 27 November 1978 by Harvard Observatory at Harvard.
Named in honor of Landon and Livinia Clay, steadfast friends of science and the arts, Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. They are in particular enthusiastic and penetratingly knowledgeable supporters of astronomy, conservation biology and mathematics.Naming citation (19980808/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
👶 Clay as a baby name🐶 Clay as a dog name
Where Clay is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Clay is 2.16 au from the Sun and 1.52 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8452 |
| Provisional designation | 1978 WB |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.26 km (#14,576 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.302 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.81 |
| Orbital period | 3.74 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.41 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.00 – 2.81 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.169 |
| Inclination | 2.20° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.01 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.