(12031) Kobaton Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 30 January 1997 by N. Sato at Chichibu.
Since 2005, Kobaton (also known as Shirakobato, or the Eurasian collared dove) has been the official bird of Saitama prefecture.Naming citation (20091004/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Kobaton is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Kobaton is 2.70 au from the Sun and 3.69 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12031 |
| Provisional designation | 1997 BY4 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.57 km (#11,498 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.255 |
| Rotation period | 3.18 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.15 |
| Orbital period | 3.58 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.34 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.98 – 2.70 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.155 |
| Inclination | 9.92° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.995 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 30 January 1997
- (8739) Morihisa
- (8941) Junsaito
- (8942) Takagi
- (8943) Stefanozavka
- (8944) Ortigara
- (11348) Allegra
- (15375) Laetitiafoglia
- (20194) Ilarialocantore
- (20195) Mariovinci
- (22467) Koharumi
- (31091) Bettiventicinque
- (46691) Ghezzi