(53311) Deucalion Trans-Neptunian Object
Discovered on 18 April 1999 by Deep Ecliptic Survey at Kitt Peak.
After a flood in which all humans were drowned except for Deucalion and Pyrrha, an oracle tells them to “throw the bones of their mother” behind them. Puzzled, they decided that their mother is Earth and her bones are stones. The stones they then threw over their shoulders sprang up into people to repopulate the world.Naming citation (20030614/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Deucalion is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Deucalion is 42.3 au from the Sun and 43.1 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 53311 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 HU11 |
| Orbit class | Trans-Neptunian Object |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 6.71 |
| Orbital period | 291 years |
| Semi-major axis | 43.9 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 41.3 – 46.5 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0591 |
| Inclination | 0.366° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 40.3 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.