(6920) Esaki Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 14 May 1993 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.
Named in honor of Leo Esaki (b. 1925), Japanese experimental physicist who was awarded the 1973 Nobel Prize in physics. He devised the Esaki diode using the tunnel effect.Naming citation (19980808/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Esaki is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Esaki is 2.46 au from the Sun and 3.14 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6920 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 JE |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.96 km (#10,685 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.413 |
| Rotation period | 3.07 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.49 |
| Orbital period | 3.69 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.39 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.20 – 2.58 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0794 |
| Inclination | 6.71° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.22 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Leo
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- (9070) Ensab
- (12688) Baekeland
- (17096) Takemaru
- (23937) Delibes
- (24945) Houziaux
- (28794) Crowley
- (30166) Leodeng
- (32569) Deming
- (34388) Wylonis
- (38442) Szilard
- (100047) Leobaeck
All asteroids named after someone called Leo
Also discovered on 14 May 1993
- (6143) Pythagoras
- (6798) Couperin
- (6921) Janejacobs
- (8700) Gevaert
- (9626) Stanley
- (11082) Spilliaert
- (13109) Berzelius