(46631) Hosoikatsumasa Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 October 1994 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.
Katsumasa Hosoi (b. 1964) is a Japanese amateur astronomer residing in Fukushima Prefecture who conducts observes asteroid occultations of stars. In response to a request for cooperation from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, he observed the TNO (612533) and contributed to research indicating the presence of a thin atmosphere.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 6, #8, 9), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Hosoikatsumasa is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Hosoikatsumasa is 2.25 au from the Sun and 1.32 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 46631 |
| Provisional designation | 1994 TQ3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 12.4 km (#3,917 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0510 |
| Rotation period | 7.93 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.56 |
| Orbital period | 4.03 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.53 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.23 – 2.84 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.119 |
| Inclination | 12.9° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.24 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 5 October 1994
- (7840) Hendrika
- (11316) Fuchitatsuo
- (13610) Lilienthal
- (14028) Nakamurahiroshi
- (17579) Lewkopelew
- (27845) Josephmeyer
- (27846) Honegger
- (29329) Knobelsdorff
- (85299) Neander
- (100268) Rosenthal