(6886) Grote Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 11 February 1942 by L. Oterma at Turku.

Named in honor of Grote Reber (b. 1911), pioneer radioastronomer. A radio engineer by profession, he became intrigued by Jansky's 1932 detection of radio waves of extraterrestrial origin. From a series of homemade radio receivers and a 9.4-m parabolic dish antenna in his backyard in Wheaton, Illinois, Reber obtained the first detailed quantitative maps of the radio sky and published these in a series of papers during the 1940s. His stunning results gradually opened the consciousness of others to this very powerful method of observing the universe. Name suggested and citation prepared by G. C. L. Aikman.Naming citation (19961224/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Grote is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Grote is 2.78 au from the Sun and 2.36 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	6886
Provisional designation	1942 CG
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	8.44 km (#6,188 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.347
Rotation period	5.75 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.57
Orbital period	4.12 years
Semi-major axis	2.57 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.17 – 2.97 au
Eccentricity	0.156
Inclination	9.14°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.18 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also discovered on 11 February 1942

(2827) Vellamo

More named asteroids discovered by L. Oterma

All 50

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