(7012) Hobbes Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 11 February 1988 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.

Named in memory of the great British political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). In 1651 he published his masterpiece Leviathan, wherein he insisted that the first requirement of political and moral institutions is that they should provide citizens with security. He analyzed the conditions for peace and security and gave a recipe for constructing an ideal state: men can only live together in peace if they agree to subject themselves to an absolute and individual sovereign. He made a severe attack on the attempt of papists and presbyterians to challenge the rights of this sovereign. Citation prepared by S. Elst at the request of the discoverer.Naming citation (19961224/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

🐶 Hobbes as a dog name 🐱 Hobbes as a cat name

Where Hobbes is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Hobbes is 2.40 au from the Sun and 2.82 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	7012
Provisional designation	1988 CH2
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	4.67 km (#11,301 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.351
Rotation period	8.94 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.72
Orbital period	3.52 years
Semi-major axis	2.31 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.01 – 2.62 au
Eccentricity	0.131
Inclination	7.19°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.02 au

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

Also discovered on 11 February 1988

More named asteroids discovered by E. W. Elst

All 1035

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