(391532) Markdowning Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 8 September 2007 by L. H. Wasserman at Cerro Tololo.
Mark Downing (b. 1957) is an expert in wavefront sensing CCDs used in state-of-the-art astronomical adaptive optics systems. Mark was instrumental in the development of the CCD220 which is key to the performance of the Extremely Large Telescope, which at 39-meter aperture will be the largest optical telescope ever developed for astronomy.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #9, 20), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Markdowning is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Markdowning is 2.77 au from the Sun and 3.63 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 391532 |
| Provisional designation | 2007 RK282 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.09 km (#12,513 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0510 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 16.23 |
| Orbital period | 4.05 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.54 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.28 – 2.80 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.103 |
| Inclination | 29.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.29 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Mark
- (7004) Markthiemens
- (7552) Sephton
- (7778) Markrobinson
- (7917) Hammergren
- (8015) Marksimons
- (8329) Speckman
- (8686) Akenside
- (8789) Effertz
- (10276) Matney
- (10598) Markrees
- (12094) Mazumder
- (13211) Stucky
All asteroids named after someone called Mark