(54902) Close Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 23 July 2001 by Collins, M., White, M. at Anza.
Gary Close (1940-1999) worked with the Science Museum of western Virginia for 18 years, lastly as the director of Hopkins Planetarium. He managed the planetarium's Sky Watch program and led night hikes to take groups stargazing.Naming citation (20031110/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Close is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Close is 2.61 au from the Sun and 2.51 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 54902 |
| Provisional designation | 2001 OG77 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 1.88 km (#17,161 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.314 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.61 |
| Orbital period | 3.63 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.36 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.94 – 2.79 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.180 |
| Inclination | 2.98° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.953 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Gary
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- (20573) Garynadler
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All asteroids named after someone called Gary