(4089) Galbraith Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 2 May 1986 by Palomar at Palomar.
Harvard University economist and polemicist John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006), renowned for his use of irony and for stressing the human element in the study of economics, rejected “the conventional wisdom” (a term introduced in his 1958 best-seller The Affluent Society) and the idea that economics is a “science”.Naming citation (20060613/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Galbraith is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Galbraith is 2.44 au from the Sun and 2.00 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 4089 |
| Provisional designation | 1986 JG |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.08 km (#10,467 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.429 |
| Rotation period | 4.91 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.23 |
| Orbital period | 3.23 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.89 – 2.48 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.133 |
| Inclination | 1.14° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.878 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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