(7290) Johnrather Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 11 May 1991 by E. F. Helin at Palomar.
Named in honor of John D. Rather (b. 1938), astrophysicist, on the completion of his 60th revolution around the sun on 1998 Jan. 25. Long associated with special projects at NASA and in industry, he served in the early 1990s as chair of the Near-Earth Object Interception Committee, which examined possible mitigation processes against the threat of minor planets and comets on collision courses with the earth. As a direct consequence of his urging the use of an aggressive treatment that allowed his wife to triumph over cancer, he has in recent years transferred his interest in mitigation to a new career in leading-edge research to fight this scourge.Naming citation (19980211/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Johnrather is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Johnrather is 3.14 au from the Sun and 3.84 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7290 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 JY1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.11 km (#7,499 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.116 |
| Rotation period | 91.2 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.99 |
| Orbital period | 4.09 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.56 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.97 – 3.14 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.229 |
| Inclination | 24.7° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.07 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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