(8990) Compassion Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 19 February 1980 by Klet at Klet.
Named by the Committee for Small-Body Nomenclature to honor the compassion of people around the world for the friends and families of the victims of disasters, exemplified by the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on 2001 Sept. 11, with the hope that they will overcome their sorrow.Naming citation (20011002/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Compassion is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Compassion is 3.04 au from the Sun and 3.42 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8990 |
| Provisional designation | 1980 DN |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 16.6 km (#2,760 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0640 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.79 |
| Orbital period | 5.61 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.16 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.84 – 3.47 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0990 |
| Inclination | 8.05° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.85 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 19 February 1980
- (2315) Czechoslovakia
- (2321) Luznice
- (2747) Cesky Krumlov
- (3243) Skytel
- (3313) Mendel
- (3715) Stohl
- (4317) Garibaldi
- (6060) Doudleby