(34901) Mauna Loa Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
This minor planet at the Hecuba Gap is named for the volcano Mauna Loa, which means Long Mountain. This volcano forms the largest part of the Big Island of Hawaii. The summit of Mauna Loa, at 4169 m, is about 40 m less than that of its dormant neighbor, Mauna Kea. Name suggested by J. Schubart.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #19, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Mauna Loa is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Mauna Loa is 2.58 au from the Sun and 2.19 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 34901 |
| Provisional designation | 2699 P-L |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.31 km (#10,028 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0990 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.77 |
| Orbital period | 5.87 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.25 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.58 – 3.92 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.206 |
| Inclination | 0.383° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.60 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Hecuba
All asteroids named after someone called Hecuba
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites