(7984) Marius Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 29 September 1980 by Z. Vavrova at Klet.

Simon Marius (1573-1625) was court astronomer in Ansbach. He discovered the Jovian satellites, but published his observations after Galileo, who accused him of plagiarism and ruined his reputation. Marius suggested the names for the satellites and also measured the diameter of the Andromeda Galaxy.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2014-03-16), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

👶 Marius as a baby name 🐶 Marius as a dog name

Where Marius is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Marius is 2.68 au from the Sun and 3.27 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	7984
Provisional designation	1980 SM
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	10.0 km (#5,091 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.0650
Rotation period	3.53 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.64
Orbital period	4.27 years
Semi-major axis	2.63 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.11 – 3.16 au
Eccentricity	0.200
Inclination	9.04°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.11 au

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

Also named after someone called Simon

All asteroids named after someone called Simon

Also discovered on 29 September 1980

More named asteroids discovered by Z. Vavrova

All 83

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