(3446) Combes Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 12 March 1942 by K. Reinmuth at Heidelberg.
Named in honor of the French amateur astronomer Michel-Alain Combes (1942– ), who for many years has been interested in minor planets, especially the near-Earth asteroids and their discovery circumstances. He writes a regular column about minor planets in the French periodical L'Astronomie, and he contributed to the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names by L. D. Schmadel, who found the identification involving this planet and who proposed the name. Citation prepared by J. Meeus.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #28, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Combes is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Combes is 2.30 au from the Sun and 3.27 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 3446 |
| Provisional designation | 1942 EB |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 8.41 km (#6,217 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.144 |
| Rotation period | 5.70 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.53 |
| Orbital period | 3.66 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.38 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.00 – 2.75 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.158 |
| Inclination | 7.68° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.03 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.