(73059) Kaunas Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 16 March 2002 by Cernis, K., Zdanavicius, J. at Moletai.
With its 400 000 inhabitants, Kaunas is the second largest town in Lithuania. It is situated at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers---the Neris and the Nemunas. Kaunas was first mentioned in written sources in 1361. It was fated to become the temporary capital of Lithuania during 1919--1940.Naming citation (20050125/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Kaunas is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Kaunas is 2.35 au from the Sun and 1.88 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 73059 |
| Provisional designation | 2002 FO5 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 33.8 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 16.61 |
| Orbital period | 3.20 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.17 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.98 – 2.36 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0869 |
| Inclination | 4.18° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.971 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 16 March 2002
- (95593) Azusienis
- (135561) Tautvaisiene
- (151430) Nemunas
- (169568) Baranauskas
- (237845) Neris
- (252794) Maironis
- (286693) Kodaitis