(9548) Fortran Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 13 February 1985 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.
FORmula TRANslator, the first widely distributed symbolic programming language for digital computers, was developed at IBM in New York by John Backus and co-workers from 1953 to 1957. It made computers more accessible to scientists and engineers by freeing them of burdensome programming in assembly language.Naming citation (20001111/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Fortran is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Fortran is 2.95 au from the Sun and 3.40 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9548 |
| Provisional designation | 1985 CN |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.45 km (#9,802 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0580 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.38 |
| Orbital period | 3.66 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.38 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.80 – 2.95 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.241 |
| Inclination | 9.66° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.847 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.