(9368) Esashi Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 January 1993 by Mukai, M., Takeishi, M. at Kagoshima.
Named for a small town in northern Hokkaido, on the Sea of Okhotsk, not far from the home of the second discoverer. Known as “The Town of the Solar Eclipse”, it was visited by astronomers from all over the world during the total solar eclipses of 1896 Aug. 9 and 1936 June 19. After the former eclipse the American astronomer David P. Todd gave many books to the town, and these became the nucleus of the first public library to be established in Hokkaido.Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Esashi is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Esashi is 2.56 au from the Sun and 1.79 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9368 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 BS3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.26 km (#12,135 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.466 |
| Rotation period | 2.92 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.6 |
| Orbital period | 3.51 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.31 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.04 – 2.58 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.116 |
| Inclination | 6.85° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.06 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.