(9965) GNU Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 March 1992 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.
GNU is the recursive acronym for “GNU is not Unix”. The GNU Project was created by Richard Stallman in 1983. It enabled computer programmers to trade and improve on each others' ideas freely. Linux and academic computing owe much of their functionality to the firm foundations of GNU software.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 1, #11, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where GNU is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: GNU is 2.03 au from the Sun and 2.66 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9965 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 EF2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.29 km (#8,515 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.102 |
| Rotation period | 39.7 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.49 |
| Orbital period | 3.76 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.42 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.01 – 2.83 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.168 |
| Inclination | 12.2° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.05 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.