(8246) Kotov Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 August 1979 by N. S. Chernykh at Nauchnyj.
Solar physicist Valerij Aleksandrovich Kotov (b. 1943) has worked at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory for more than 30 years. In the early 1970s he pioneered the field of helioseismology, the study of the interior structure and energy sources of the sun and other stars.Naming citation (20000124/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Kotov is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Kotov is 2.23 au from the Sun and 3.00 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8246 |
| Provisional designation | 1979 QT8 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.42 km (#14,176 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.260 |
| Rotation period | 46.6 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.12 |
| Orbital period | 3.42 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.27 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.90 – 2.64 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.162 |
| Inclination | 2.57° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.891 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.