(6111) Davemckay Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 September 1979 by S. J. Bus at Palomar.
David McKay (b. 1936) of NASA's Johnson Space Center has helped highlight the complexity and wealth of information contained in lunar regolith. His study of the martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 caused scientists to reexamine the issue of life beyond the earth and prompted NASA to renew efforts in exploring Mars.Naming citation (20020624/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Davemckay is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Davemckay is 2.29 au from the Sun and 2.77 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6111 |
| Provisional designation | 1979 SP13 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 8.66 km (#6,013 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0450 |
| Rotation period | 7.10 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.21 |
| Orbital period | 3.84 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.45 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.96 – 2.94 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.199 |
| Inclination | 4.01° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.975 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called David
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- (5270) Kakabadze
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- (5826) Bradstreet
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- (5920) Davidbell
- (5965) Meisel
- (6033) Southwood
- (6435) Daveross
- (6953) Davepierce
All asteroids named after someone called David