(9994) Grotius Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
The works Mare Liberum (1609; Free Access to the Ocean for all nations) and De Jure Belli ac Pacis (1625; On the Law of War and Peace) of the Dutch statesman Hugo Grotius (Huig de Groot, 1583–1645) laid the foundation for modern international law.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #13, 8), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Grotius is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Grotius is 2.64 au from the Sun and 2.24 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9994 |
| Provisional designation | 4028 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.75 km (#13,339 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.263 |
| Rotation period | 9.22 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.5 |
| Orbital period | 4.16 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.59 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.14 – 3.04 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.175 |
| Inclination | 7.18° |
| 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 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