(14447) Hosakakanai Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 2 November 1992 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.
In 1910 Kanai Hosaka (1896-1937) showed his drawing of 1P/Halley to Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) with the words, “The comet was like a night train going along the Milky Way”. This probably inspired Kenji's best-known story “Night on the Galactic Railroad.”Naming citation (20120406/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Hosakakanai is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Hosakakanai is 3.92 au from the Sun and 4.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 14447 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 VL |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.92 km (#6,666 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0930 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.53 |
| Orbital period | 5.22 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.01 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.09 – 3.93 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.305 |
| Inclination | 9.16° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.11 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.