(9420) Dewar Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 14 December 1995 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.
James Dewar (1842-1923), Scottish-born chemist and physicist, studied chemical reactions at low (cryogenic) temperature and in 1872 invented the double-walled vacuum-insulated flask with cryopumping getter that is used today by astronomers to refrigerate electronic detectors.Naming citation (20001111/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Dewar is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Dewar is 2.28 au from the Sun and 1.87 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9420 |
| Provisional designation | 1995 XP4 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.24 km (#14,614 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.292 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.41 |
| Orbital period | 3.42 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.27 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.07 – 2.47 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0901 |
| Inclination | 4.78° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.07 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called James
- (4445) Jimstratton
- (5310) Papike
- (5594) Jimmiller
- (5625) Jamesferguson
- (5627) Short
- (5680) Nasmyth
- (5961) Watt
- (6130) Hutton
- (6758) Jesseowens
- (8146) Jimbell
- (8621) Jimparsons
- (9007) James Bond
All asteroids named after someone called James