(9487) Kupe Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 October 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named for the legendary sailor and explorer whose discovery of the islands now known as New Zealand led to the coming there of the Maori people around the ninth century.Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Kupe is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Kupe is 2.68 au from the Sun and 2.89 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9487 |
| Provisional designation | 7633 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.23 km (#10,174 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.257 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.77 |
| Orbital period | 4.78 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.84 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.66 – 3.01 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0608 |
| Inclination | 3.31° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.65 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 17 October 1960
- (1813) Imhotep
- (2082) Galahad
- (2319) Aristides
- (2412) Wil
- (2495) Noviomagum
- (3279) Solon
- (3604) Berkhuijsen
- (3734) Waland
- (4355) Memphis
- (4356) Marathon
- (4907) Zoser
- (5012) Eurymedon
More named asteroids discovered by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T.
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1778) Alfven
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1813) Imhotep
← (9486) Utemorrah · (9488) Huia →