(20041) Gainor Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 18 December 1992 by Natori, A., Urata, T. at Yakiimo.
Christopher Gainor (b. 1954) is a Canadian journalist, historian and amateur astronomer with a Ph.D. in the history of technology from the University of Alberta. He has written six books about aerospace, including Not Yet Imagined, the operational history of the Hubble Space Telescope, published by NASA in 2021. Gainor was President of the RASC in 2018–2020.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 4, #9, 7), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Gainor is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Gainor is 2.50 au from the Sun and 3.10 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 20041 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 YH |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.17 km (#10,317 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.317 |
| Rotation period | 2.62 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.33 |
| Orbital period | 4.17 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.59 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.10 – 3.09 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.191 |
| Inclination | 13.8° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.11 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Christopher
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All asteroids named after someone called Christopher
Also discovered on 18 December 1992
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- (8188) Okegaya
- (10119) Remarque
- (10120) Ypres
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- (11926) Orinoco
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- (12340) Stalle
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- (17519) Pritsak