(14120) Espenak Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 27 August 1998 by LONEOS at Anderson Mesa.
Fred Espenak Jr. (b. 1952), of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, is widely recognized for his calculations of solar eclipses, his magnificent maps of these phenomena and his book Totality: Eclipses of the Sun.Naming citation (20030318/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Espenak is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Espenak is 2.59 au from the Sun and 3.40 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 14120 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 QJ54 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 13.2 km (#3,658 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0368 |
| Rotation period | 7.24 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.71 |
| Orbital period | 3.68 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.38 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.17 – 2.60 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0889 |
| Inclination | 5.99° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.19 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Fred
- (5253) Fredclifford
- (5691) Fredwatson
- (5927) Krogh
- (7065) Fredschaaf
- (8077) Hoyle
- (12113) Hollows
- (13859) Fredtreasure
- (22846) Fredwhitaker
- (26858) Misterrogers
All asteroids named after someone called Fred
Also discovered on 27 August 1998
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- (12557) Caracol
- (13722) Campobagatin
- (13723) Kolokolova
- (13724) Schwehm
- (14121) Stuwe
- (14122) Josties
- (14572) Armando
- (14573) Montebugnoli
- (23819) Tsuyoshi
- (25052) Rudawska
- (25053) Matthewknight