(8277) Machu-Picchu Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 8 April 1991 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Machu-Picchu, “old peak”, 2350 meters high, is the site of ancient Inca ruins about 80 km nortwest of Cuzco. When he discovered the nearly intact pre-Columbian ruins, Hiram Bingham thought he had found the “lost city of the Incas”, but the building style suggests it was the palace of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (c. 1438-1471).Naming citation (20030106/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Machu-Picchu is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Machu-Picchu is 2.60 au from the Sun and 2.13 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8277 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 GV8 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.99 km (#7,664 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0540 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.88 |
| Orbital period | 3.80 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.44 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.25 – 2.62 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0753 |
| Inclination | 2.07° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.26 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 8 April 1991
- (6487) Tonyspear
- (6647) Josse
- (6912) Grimm
- (7126) Cureau
- (7179) Gassendi
- (8369) Miyata
- (8665) Daun-Eifel
- (8852) Buxus
- (9180) Samsagan
- (9339) Kimnovak
- (9592) Clairaut
- (9757) Felixdejager
More named asteroids discovered by E. W. Elst
- (3631) Sigyn
- (3784) Chopin
- (3870) Mayre
- (3903) Kliment Ohridski
- (3910) Liszt
- (3912) Troja
- (3918) Brel
- (4038) Kristina
- (4226) Damiaan
- (4342) Freud
- (4344) Buxtehude
- (4345) Rachmaninoff
← (8276) Shigei · (8278) Ooyanagi →