(12278) Kisohinoki Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 21 November 1990 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.
Japanese cypresses (hinoki), especially the Kiso cypresses, were used as building materials for castles during the Edo era. They were protected like human beings. The Kiso cypresses form a natural forest 400 years old.Naming citation (20071124/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Kisohinoki is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Kisohinoki is 2.48 au from the Sun and 3.16 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12278 |
| Provisional designation | 1990 WQ2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.45 km (#9,805 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.285 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.75 |
| Orbital period | 4.39 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.68 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.23 – 3.14 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.169 |
| Inclination | 6.60° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.25 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 21 November 1990
- (4719) Burnaby
- (6247) Amanogawa
- (8165) Gnadig
- (8503) Masakatsu
- (9589) Deridder
- (10326) Kuragano
- (10327) Batens
- (30835) Waterloo
- (48448) Tokuda