(10979) Fristephenson Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
F. Richard Stephenson (b. 1941), professorial fellow at the University of Durham, is known for his use of ancient and medieval astronomical records to improve our knowledge of the earth's rotation, supernovae and comets. The name was suggested by the object's identifier, D. W. E. Green, with the encouragement of the discoverers.Naming citation (20041126/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Fristephenson is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Fristephenson is 2.26 au from the Sun and 2.70 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 10979 |
| Provisional designation | 4171 T-2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.33 km (#10,004 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0570 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.31 |
| Orbital period | 3.85 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.46 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.26 – 2.66 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0820 |
| Inclination | 5.57° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.25 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Richard
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- (5391) Emmons
- (5567) Durisen
- (6368) Richardmenendez
- (6893) Sanderson
- (7392) Kowalski
- (7845) Mckim
- (7966) Richardbaum
- (8331) Dawkins
- (8717) Richviktorov
- (9725) Wainscoat
All asteroids named after someone called Richard
Also discovered on 29 September 1973
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- (4549) Burkhardt
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- (4876) Strabo
- (4978) Seitz
- (5151) Weerstra
- (5197) Rottmann
- (5243) Clasien
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- (5266) Rauch