(7965) Katsuhiko Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 January 1996 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.
Named in honor of Katsuhiko Sato (b. 1945), professor at University of Tokyo and director of the Research Center of the Early Universe since 1995. He is an active leader in cosmology research and served as president of IAU Commission 47 during 1988-1991. He proposed an exponential expansion model of the early universe on the basis of the unified theory of interactions. This was named the Inflation Model by A. Guth, who proposed it independently. Name proposed by the discoverers following a suggestion by Y. Yamada.Naming citation (19990728/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Katsuhiko is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Katsuhiko is 2.04 au from the Sun and 2.84 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7965 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 BD1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 20.7 km (#2,121 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0630 |
| Rotation period | 5.39 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.5 |
| Orbital period | 3.81 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.44 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.74 – 3.14 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.287 |
| Inclination | 25.0° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.895 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.