(8237) Constable Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 October 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named for the English painter John Constable (1776-1837), known for his landscapes painted directly from nature. A forerunner of the Impressionists of the late nineteenth century, he is notable for his use of color. For some time he made portraits, but later he went back to landscape painting.Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Constable is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Constable is 2.26 au from the Sun and 3.09 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8237 |
| Provisional designation | 7581 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.88 km (#13,032 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.240 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.64 |
| Orbital period | 3.35 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.24 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.00 – 2.48 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.107 |
| Inclination | 5.51° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.996 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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