(22312) Kelly Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 14 April 1991 by Shoemaker, C. S., Levy, D. H. at Palomar.
Thomas J. Kelly (1929-2002) was the chief engineer of the Apollo Lunar Module. Considered the “Father of the LM”, he and his Grumman Aerospace engineering team oversaw the design, construction and testing of each of the spacecraft that safely landed twelve men on the moon.Naming citation (20030806/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
👶 Kelly as a baby name🐶 Kelly as a dog name🐱 Kelly as a cat name
Where Kelly is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Kelly is 2.65 au from the Sun and 1.88 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 22312 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 GW1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.75 km (#15,768 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.321 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.25 |
| Orbital period | 3.43 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.27 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.84 – 2.71 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.192 |
| Inclination | 24.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.846 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Thomas
- (4008) Corbin
- (4739) Tomahrens
- (4830) Thomascooley
- (4897) Tomhamilton
- (5548) Thosharriot
- (6019) Telford
- (6361) Koppel
- (8236) Gainsborough
- (8382) Mann
- (8793) Thomasmuller
- (9460) McGlynn
- (9536) Statler
All asteroids named after someone called Thomas