(10162) Issunboushi Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 2 January 1995 by Niijima, T., Urata, T. at Ojima.
The extraordinarily small character Issunboushi---Issun means about 3 cm in old Japanese---was the hero of many old Japanese tales. Born the size of a bean, he defeated ogres, succeeded in a stratagem that got him a beautiful bride, and shook a mallet that instantly transformed him into a normal young man.Naming citation (19991123/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Issunboushi is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Issunboushi is 2.54 au from the Sun and 3.49 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 10162 |
| Provisional designation | 1995 AL |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.30 km (#14,487 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.339 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.76 |
| Orbital period | 3.87 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.46 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.23 – 2.70 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0940 |
| Inclination | 7.04° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.22 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.