(16853) Masafumi Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 21 December 1997 by N. Sato at Chichibu.
Masafumi Kimura (1959-2009) was a Japanese aerospace engineer who calculated the spacecraft orbit and contributed much to the success of ‘KAGUYA’ as leader of design of the high-gain antenna that allows communication between the moon and the earth.Naming citation (20101128/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Masafumi is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Masafumi is 3.00 au from the Sun and 3.89 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 16853 |
| Provisional designation | 1997 YV2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 12.0 km (#4,076 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0700 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.37 |
| Orbital period | 5.47 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.11 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.75 – 3.46 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.114 |
| Inclination | 2.19° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.76 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.