(5554) Keesey Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 15 October 1985 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.

Michael S. W. Keesey (1937- ) is a member of the Solar System Dynamics Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He began his career at JPL in 1970, and his knowledge of fundamental astronomy and celestial mechanics has been put to good use in the ephemeris development efforts for those planets, comets and minor planets that have been mission candidates or targets of ground-based observations. Citation prepared by D. K. Yeomans, a colleague of the honoree.Naming citation (MPC22831), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Keesey is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Keesey is 2.15 au from the Sun and 2.45 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	5554
Provisional designation	1985 TW1
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	4.18 km (#12,313 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.305
Rotation period	7.01 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.03
Orbital period	3.36 years
Semi-major axis	2.24 au
Perihelion – aphelion	1.80 – 2.69 au
Eccentricity	0.197
Inclination	7.72°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	0.821 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Michael

All asteroids named after someone called Michael

Also discovered on 15 October 1985

More named asteroids discovered by E. Bowell

All 554

← (5553) Chodas · (5555) Wimberly →