(78432) Helensailer Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 August 2002 by R. Matson at Palomar.
Helen R. Sailer (b. 1918) learned to fly in 1939, earning her private pilot's license in 1945 after working in the war industry, and ultimately achieving a commercial multi-engine rating. The discoverer's great aunt, she marks 50 years as a life member of the international women's flying organization The Ninety-Nines.Naming citation (20050125/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Helensailer is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Helensailer is 3.00 au from the Sun and 2.03 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 78432 |
| Provisional designation | 2002 QR50 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.16 km (#10,336 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0660 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.34 |
| Orbital period | 5.82 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.23 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.85 – 3.62 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.119 |
| Inclination | 3.75° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.87 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Helen
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- (20449) Katiejoy
- (23011) Petach
- (24422) Helentressa
- (28137) Helenyao
- (30281) Horstman
- (32277) Helenliu
- (33737) Helenlyons
- (71669) Dodsonprince
- (111696) Helenorman
- (123818) Helenzier
All asteroids named after someone called Helen