(47144) Faulkes Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 7 August 1999 by Ticha, J., Tichy, M. at Klet.
M. C. `Dill' Faulkes (b. 1944) originally graduated in cosmology. After a career in the software industry, he established the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust. To inspire young people he started the Faulkes Telescope Project, providing two 2-m robotic telescopes for schools, including the project involved in minor-planet astrometry.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #21, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Faulkes is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Faulkes is 2.20 au from the Sun and 1.77 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 47144 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 PY |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.49 km (#13,999 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.230 |
| Rotation period | 7.67 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.77 |
| Orbital period | 3.34 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.23 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.96 – 2.51 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.124 |
| Inclination | 6.30° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.958 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.