(356863) Maathai Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 25 June 2010 by WISE at WISE.
Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and the first female professor ever in her home country of Kenya. In 1977 she started the Green Belt Movement to counteract deforestation, contributing to the planting of more than thirty million trees.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2015-01-05), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Maathai is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Maathai is 3.55 au from the Sun and 2.56 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 356863 |
| Provisional designation | 2011 WZ61 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.52 |
| Orbital period | 7.85 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.95 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 3.51 – 4.38 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.110 |
| Inclination | 3.92° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 2.51 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.