(17744) Jodiefoster Mars-crossing Asteroid
Discovered on 18 January 1998 by ODAS at Caussols.
Jodie Foster (b. 1962) is an accomplished actress and film director. For most astronomers she will always be Eleanor “Ellie” Arroway in Robert Zemeckis' movie Contact, based on the novel by the same name written by the late Carl Sagan.Naming citation (20020921/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Jodiefoster is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Jodiefoster is 1.79 au from the Sun and 0.822 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 17744 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 BZ31 |
| Orbit class | Mars-crossing Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.12 km (#16,898 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.360 |
| Rotation period | 73.0 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.2 |
| Orbital period | 3.70 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.39 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.65 – 3.14 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.311 |
| Inclination | 3.08° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.643 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Jodie
All asteroids named after someone called Jodie
Also discovered on 18 January 1998
- (10628) Feuerbacher
- (31230) Tuyouyou
- (35429) Bochartdesaron
- (37818) Juliamaury
- (58700) Darson
- (91001) Shanghaishida