(103739) Higginbotham Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 February 2000 by M. W. Buie at Kitt Peak.
Joan Higginbotham (b. 1964) is an electrical engineer and former NASA Astronaut. She actively participated in 53 space shuttle launches as an engineer at Kennedy Space Center before becoming the third African American woman to go into space.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2021-01-27), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Higginbotham is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Higginbotham is 2.69 au from the Sun and 3.67 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 103739 |
| Provisional designation | 2000 CT110 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.99 km (#10,634 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0850 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.35 |
| Orbital period | 4.28 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.64 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.47 – 2.81 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0647 |
| Inclination | 7.73° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.45 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Joan
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- (18782) Joanrho
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- (36039) Joandunham
- (166974) Joanbinimelis
- (170193) Joanguillem
- (257084) Joanalcover
- (306001) Joanllaneras
All asteroids named after someone called Joan
Also discovered on 6 February 2000
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- (30012) Sohamdaga
- (45594) Wendyrichard
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- (97472) Hobby