(211376) Joethurston Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 5 October 2002 by Sloan Digital Sky Survey at Apache Point.

Joe Thurston (1981-2013) was one of the 19 elite Prescott's Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters who lost their lives battling a blaze on a ridge in Yarnell, AZ. Crews such as the Hotshots are connected to astronomy through their brave efforts to protect forests and the observatories within them from fire threats.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2013-10-18), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Joethurston is today

MercuryVenusEarthEarthMarsMarsJoethurstonJoethurston

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Joethurston is 2.72 au from the Sun and 3.61 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number211376
Provisional designation2002 TT330
Orbit classMain-belt Asteroid
Diameter2.94 km (#15,375 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo0.0680
Absolute magnitude (H)16.42
Orbital period4.41 years
Semi-major axis2.69 au
Perihelion – aphelion2.66 – 2.72 au
Eccentricity0.0116
Inclination5.85°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)1.65 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Joe

Also discovered on 5 October 2002

More named asteroids discovered by Sloan Digital Sky Survey