(6830) Johnbackus Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 May 1991 by Otomo, S., Muramatsu, O. at Kiyosato.
John Backus (1924-2007) was a U.S. computer scientist, best known for inventing the first high-level programming language FORTRAN in 1954. The language was widely adopted by scientists and engineers for numerical calculations and is still very widely used. The name was suggested by E. Goffin.Naming citation (20070601/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Johnbackus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Johnbackus is 3.17 au from the Sun and 2.64 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6830 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 JB1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 15.3 km (#3,079 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0760 |
| Rotation period | 4.93 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.79 |
| Orbital period | 5.64 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.17 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.70 – 3.63 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.146 |
| Inclination | 5.08° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.69 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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