(8760) Crex Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 25 March 1971 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.

Named for Crex crex, or corncrake.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 2, #8, 6), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Crex is today

MercuryVenusEarthEarthMarsMarsCrexCrex

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Crex is 2.89 au from the Sun and 3.06 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number8760
Provisional designation1081 T-1
Orbit classMain-belt Asteroid
Diameter6.57 km (#8,166 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo0.149
Absolute magnitude (H)13.86
Orbital period5.41 years
Semi-major axis3.08 au
Perihelion – aphelion2.87 – 3.29 au
Eccentricity0.0677
Inclination1.67°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)1.86 au

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

Also discovered on 25 March 1971

More named asteroids discovered by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T.