(18426) Maffei Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 18 December 1993 by Colzani, E., Ventre, G. at Sormano.
The career of Paolo Maffei (b. 1926), former director of the Catania Observatory and an astronomer at Arcetri, Bologna, Asiago and Hamburg, has covered comets, variable stars, evolution of the universe, history of astronomy and popularization of astronomy through many inspired books.Naming citation (20020921/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Maffei is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Maffei is 2.05 au from the Sun and 1.34 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 18426 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 YN2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.33 |
| Orbital period | 3.67 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.38 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.97 – 2.79 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.173 |
| Inclination | 2.84° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.985 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Paolo
- (6671) Concari
- (8076) Foscarini
- (9715) Paolotanga
- (10198) Pinelli
- (10371) Gigli
- (12405) Nespoli
- (13150) Paolotesi
- (16879) Campai
- (19523) Paolofrisi
- (20575) Panicucci
- (20577) Paolomartino
- (33031) Paolofini
All asteroids named after someone called Paolo
Also discovered on 18 December 1993
← (18418) Ujibe · (18430) Balzac →