(17627) Humptydumpty Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 27 January 1996 by T. Urata at Oohira.
Humpty Dumpty, whose head and body together are egg-shaped, is not only the subject of one of the most famous nursery rhymes in English but also a major character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He tells Alice a lot about the meaning of words, including the strange ones in the poem “Jabberwocky”.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #13, 8), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Humptydumpty is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Humptydumpty is 3.62 au from the Sun and 4.27 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 17627 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 BM3 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 42.5 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.18 |
| Orbital period | 5.75 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.21 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.76 – 3.66 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.141 |
| Inclination | 0.954° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.77 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.