(7862) Keikonakamura Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 2 March 1981 by S. J. Bus at Siding Spring.
Keiko Nakamura Messenger (b. 1973) is a space scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Her work revealed the existence of organic globules in the Tagish Lake meteorite, furthering our understanding of organic material in the solar system.Naming citation (20060809/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Keikonakamura is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Keikonakamura is 2.64 au from the Sun and 1.73 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7862 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 EE28 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.02 km (#10,571 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.228 |
| Rotation period | 18.8 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.6 |
| Orbital period | 4.79 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.84 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.63 – 3.05 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0746 |
| Inclination | 2.38° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.63 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Keiko
All asteroids named after someone called Keiko
Also discovered on 2 March 1981
- (2884) Reddish
- (2919) Dali
- (2980) Cameron
- (2981) Chagall
- (2990) Trimberger
- (3000) Leonardo
- (3121) Tamines
- (3122) Florence
- (3207) Spinrad
- (3252) Johnny
- (3304) Pearce
- (3524) Schulz