(3791) Marci Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 November 1981 by A. Mrkos at Klet.
Named in memory of Jan Marcus Marci of Kronland (1595-1667), Czech physicist, mathematician, astronomer and physician at the Charles University in Prague during the Thirty Years War. Twenty years before Newton, Marci thoroughly described the spectral dispersion and diffraction of light, color effects on thin layers and rainbow colors. He also studied elastic and inelastic collisions of spheres, the motion of a pendulum and tried to solve the problem of squaring the circle. Name suggested by J. Ticha and M. Šolc.Naming citation (19960828/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
👶 Marci as a baby name🐶 Marci as a dog name
Where Marci is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Marci is 3.02 au from the Sun and 3.11 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 3791 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 WV1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 11.7 km (#4,211 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.118 |
| Rotation period | 10.6 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.26 |
| Orbital period | 4.90 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.88 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.70 – 3.07 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0641 |
| Inclination | 1.28° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.69 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Jan
- (2308) Schilt
- (3847) Sindel
- (6266) Letzel
- (6834) Hunfeld
- (7218) Skacel
- (7221) Sallaba
- (7701) Zrzavy
- (7849) Janjosefric
- (8149) Ruff
- (9239) van Riebeeck
- (9259) Janvanparadijs
- (9561) van Eyck
All asteroids named after someone called Jan