(7636) Comba Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 February 1984 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.
Named in honor of Paul G. Comba (b. 1926), who gave up a career in celestial mechanics and astronomy for one in mathematics and computer science. After teaching at the University of Hawaii during the 1950s, he worked for three decades at IBM in New York and Massachusetts, where he carried out software research and development in many areas, including database management, geometric modeling, elasticity and cryptography. Following his formal retirement to Prescott, Arizona, he undertook a program of astrometry of minor planets in 1995. He has already been credited with the discovery of 20 numbered objects. Name proposed by the discoverer following a suggestion by B. G. Marsden, who prepared the citation.Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Comba is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Comba is 2.68 au from the Sun and 3.67 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7636 |
| Provisional designation | 1984 CM |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 11.3 km (#4,387 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0740 |
| Rotation period | 194 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.46 |
| Orbital period | 4.19 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.60 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.38 – 2.82 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0838 |
| Inclination | 9.83° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.42 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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