(6741) Liyuan Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 31 March 1994 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.

Named in honor of Li Yuan (b. 1925), popularizer of astronomy in the People's Republic of China. He played an important role in the opening of Beijing Planetarium in 1957 and served as a leader of planetarium activities in China. He has published more than 50 books on science, including astronomy, and has frequently contributed to domestic and foreign publications. Name proposed by the discoverers following a suggestion by A. Fujii, H. Tomioka and Y. Shiono.Naming citation (19980411/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Liyuan is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Liyuan is 2.00 au from the Sun and 1.25 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	6741
Provisional designation	1994 FX
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	4.62 km (#11,385 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.396
Rotation period	10.8 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.81
Orbital period	3.49 years
Semi-major axis	2.30 au
Perihelion – aphelion	1.85 – 2.75 au
Eccentricity	0.196
Inclination	5.71°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	0.840 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Li

All asteroids named after someone called Li

Also discovered on 31 March 1994

More named asteroids discovered by Endate, K., Watanabe, K.

All 535

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