(5253) Fredclifford Mars-crossing Asteroid
Discovered on 15 December 1985 by S. Singer-Brewster at Palomar.
Fred Clifford (1924-1980) was a mariner, joining the U.S. Merchant Marine in 1943 to fulfill a life-long dream of going to sea. He was a forward thinker and inspired early technological development of foam-core surfboards and was co-owner of Clifford/George Surfboards in Santa Barbara, California, USA in the 1960s.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2015-06-02), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Fredclifford is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Fredclifford is 2.31 au from the Sun and 1.64 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 5253 |
| Provisional designation | 1985 XB |
| Orbit class | Mars-crossing Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.45 km (#16,354 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.528 |
| Rotation period | 3.05 hours |
| Spectral type | S |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.66 |
| Orbital period | 2.77 years |
| Semi-major axis | 1.97 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.53 – 2.42 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.225 |
| Inclination | 28.8° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.681 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Fred
- (5691) Fredwatson
- (5927) Krogh
- (7065) Fredschaaf
- (8077) Hoyle
- (12113) Hollows
- (13859) Fredtreasure
- (14120) Espenak
- (22846) Fredwhitaker
- (26858) Misterrogers
All asteroids named after someone called Fred