(8479) Held Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 April 1987 by A. Mrkos at Klet.
Alexander Held (b. 1958) has worked on the use of Earth observation data to improve our understanding in landscape ecology and vegetation conditions. He led Australia’s international work in Earth Observation, where he provided the necessary rationale towards the establishment of the new Australian Space Agency in 2018.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2020-11-17), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Held is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Held is 2.88 au from the Sun and 1.94 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8479 |
| Provisional designation | 1987 HD2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.05 km (#10,519 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.342 |
| Rotation period | 2.68 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.54 |
| Orbital period | 3.78 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.43 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.87 – 2.99 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.231 |
| Inclination | 1.33° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.855 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Alexander
- (1688) Wilkens
- (4837) Bickerton
- (6941) Dalgarno
- (7660) Alexanderwilson
- (8486) Asherschel
- (8795) Dudorov
- (11781) Alexroberts
- (15434) Mittal
- (15608) Owens
- (17073) Alexblank
- (21397) Leontovich
- (21461) Alexchernyak
All asteroids named after someone called Alexander