(12344) Maryland Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 18 March 1993 by Shirai, S., Hayakawa, S. at Hidaka.
Maryland references both the US state (“MD”) and the University of Maryland (“UMD”). Of the 13 colonies, MD was named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria. Part of MD's public education system, UMD hosts the Small Bodies Node (“SBN”) program, which archives and distributes information about small bodies in the solar system.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 6, #9, 10), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Maryland is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Maryland is 2.24 au from the Sun and 2.84 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12344 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 FB1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.62 km (#11,389 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.476 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.27 |
| Orbital period | 4.12 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.57 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.19 – 2.95 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.147 |
| Inclination | 8.65° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.18 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.