(8236) Gainsborough Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named for Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), British portrait and landscape painter. He was strongly influenced by the Rococo style and Dutch landscape painting, and his work is characterized by luminous colors. His portraits often feature fine landscapes, and he is notable for painting not only the aristocracy of England but also its farmers.Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Gainsborough is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Gainsborough is 3.37 au from the Sun and 3.92 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8236 |
| Provisional designation | 4040 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.12 km (#8,754 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0660 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.96 |
| Orbital period | 4.59 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.76 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.16 – 3.37 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.220 |
| Inclination | 6.87° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.15 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Thomas
- (4008) Corbin
- (4739) Tomahrens
- (4830) Thomascooley
- (4897) Tomhamilton
- (5548) Thosharriot
- (6019) Telford
- (6361) Koppel
- (8382) Mann
- (8793) Thomasmuller
- (9460) McGlynn
- (9536) Statler
- (9584) Louchheim
All asteroids named after someone called Thomas
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites