(7158) IRTF Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 1 March 1981 by S. J. Bus at Siding Spring.
The 3-meter NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) began operation on Mauna Kea in 1979. The IRTF provides valuable ground-based observations that support NASA planetary missions and basic solar system research, including extensive studies of minor planets and comets.Naming citation (20050721/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where IRTF is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: IRTF is 2.89 au from the Sun and 2.50 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7158 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 ES8 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 10.1 km (#5,033 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.179 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.8 |
| Orbital period | 5.24 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.02 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.71 – 3.33 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.103 |
| Inclination | 9.65° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.71 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 1 March 1981
- (2788) Andenne
- (3016) Meuse
- (3029) Sanders
- (3030) Vehrenberg
- (3042) Zelinsky
- (3058) Delmary
- (3075) Bornmann
- (3135) Lauer
- (3308) Ferreri
- (3472) Upgren
- (3498) Belton
- (3503) Brandt