(12237) Coughlin Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 23 April 1987 by Shoemaker, C. S., Shoemaker, E. M. at Palomar.
Thomas B. Coughlin (b. 1941) served as NEAR project manager throughout the development, launch and mission phases of this Discovery program. As program manager for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's Space Department, he accomplished several fast-track SDI programs.Naming citation (20000726/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Coughlin is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Coughlin is 2.71 au from the Sun and 1.98 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12237 |
| Provisional designation | 1987 HE |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.76 km (#11,106 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.236 |
| Rotation period | 80.4 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.22 |
| Orbital period | 3.47 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.29 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.84 – 2.75 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.199 |
| Inclination | 23.4° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.846 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Thomas
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- (4739) Tomahrens
- (4830) Thomascooley
- (4897) Tomhamilton
- (5548) Thosharriot
- (6019) Telford
- (6361) Koppel
- (8236) Gainsborough
- (8382) Mann
- (8793) Thomasmuller
- (9460) McGlynn
- (9536) Statler
All asteroids named after someone called Thomas