(8663) Davidjohnston Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 18 February 1991 by E. F. Helin at Palomar.
David Alexander Johnston (1949-1980) was an American volcanologist with the United States Geological Survey who perished while monitoring Mount St. Helens during its 1980 May 18 eruption.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2015-02-03), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Davidjohnston is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Davidjohnston is 2.47 au from the Sun and 1.72 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8663 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 DJ1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.60 km (#11,436 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.277 |
| Rotation period | 35.3 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.02 |
| Orbital period | 3.37 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.25 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.00 – 2.50 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.112 |
| Inclination | 5.81° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.02 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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