(12983) Mattcox Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 July 1979 by S. J. Bus at Palomar.
Matthew Anthony Cox (b. 1966) contributed to NASA's Lucy Trojan asteroid mission as the Spacecraft Program Manager responsible for leading the Lockheed Martin development team in designing, building, and testing the Lucy spacecraft.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 1, #9, 13), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Mattcox is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Mattcox is 3.38 au from the Sun and 2.53 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12983 |
| Provisional designation | 1979 OH1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 15.6 km (#2,980 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0720 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.0 |
| Orbital period | 5.68 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.98 – 3.39 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0654 |
| Inclination | 12.3° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.99 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Matthew
- (6626) Mattgenge
- (8998) Matthewizawa
- (10156) Darnley
- (11743) Jachowski
- (12207) Matthewbeasley
- (12985) Mattgarrison
- (13750) Mattdawson
- (15030) Matthewkroll
- (16961) Mullahy
- (17281) Mattblythe
- (18755) Meduna
- (19763) Klimesh
All asteroids named after someone called Matthew