(31006) Katherine Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 3 December 1995 by D. di Cicco at Sudbury.
Katherine Blundell (b. 1969) is an English astrophysicist who is Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford and the 38th Gresham Professor of Astronomy. She founded the Global Jet Watch, a multi-longitude network of telescopes for time-lapse spectroscopy. These are mainly within schools, to help encourage teenagers into science via astronomy.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 6, #4, 6), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
👶 Katherine as a baby name🐶 Katherine as a dog name
Where Katherine is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Katherine is 3.08 au from the Sun and 3.67 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 31006 |
| Provisional designation | 1995 XC |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 16.2 km (#2,852 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0680 |
| Rotation period | 354 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.91 |
| Orbital period | 5.70 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.75 – 3.63 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.138 |
| Inclination | 11.8° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.78 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.