(9494) Donici Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 March 1971 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Nicolae Donici (1875-1957), a founding member of the IAU and the first representative there of Romanian astronomy, was the most important messenger for Romanian astronomy around the world. Known for his research in solar physics, he observed six total solar eclipses. The name was suggested by M. Stavinschi.Naming citation (20000523/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Donici is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Donici is 2.35 au from the Sun and 3.30 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9494 |
| Provisional designation | 3212 T-1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.82 km (#13,169 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.304 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.4 |
| Orbital period | 3.25 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.01 – 2.38 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0846 |
| Inclination | 3.77° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.02 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 26 March 1971
- (5195) Kaendler
- (5491) Kaulbach
- (5492) Thoma
- (5698) Nolde
- (6202) Georgemiley
- (6257) Thorvaldsen
- (6351) Neumann
- (6429) Brancusi
- (6674) Cezanne
- (6752) Ashley
- (7367) Giotto
- (7908) Zwingli
More named asteroids discovered by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T.
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1778) Alfven
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1813) Imhotep
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