(8250) Cornell Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 2 September 1980 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.

Named for Cornell University, on the occasion of its hosting the “Asteroids, Comets, Meteors” conference in July 1999. Cornell was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1865 by Ezra Cornell. An acknowledged center for discovery, academic leadership and service, it is, in a very real sense, a world treasure. The university operates the Arecibo Observatory, the premier site for radar astronomy in the world, and it continues to play a leading role in the exploration of minor planets and comets by spacecraft. Name proposed and citation written by J. Veverka.Naming citation (19990728/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

👶 Cornell as a baby name

Where Cornell is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Cornell is 3.65 au from the Sun and 3.81 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	8250
Provisional designation	1980 RP
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	9.05 km (#5,721 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.342
Rotation period	7.04 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.34
Orbital period	5.55 years
Semi-major axis	3.13 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.50 – 3.77 au
Eccentricity	0.203
Inclination	17.0°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.49 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also discovered on 2 September 1980

More named asteroids discovered by E. Bowell

All 554

← (8249) Gershwin · (8251) Isogai →