(78434) Dyer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 August 2002 by A. Lowe at Palomar.
Alan Dyer (b. 1953) is program producer at the Calgary Science Centre and one of Canada's best-known astronomy writers. He is widely regarded as an authority on commercial telescopes, and his evaluations appear regularly in major North American astronomy magazines. He is also an accomplished astrophotographer.Naming citation (20040928/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Dyer is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Dyer is 2.82 au from the Sun and 1.92 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 78434 |
| Provisional designation | 2002 QL58 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.61 km (#11,407 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0450 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.8 |
| Orbital period | 4.65 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.78 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.75 – 2.82 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0133 |
| Inclination | 4.33° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.74 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Alan
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- (9291) Alanburdick
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- (10204) Turing
- (10373) MacRobert
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All asteroids named after someone called Alan
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