(5223) McSween Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 March 1981 by S. J. Bus at Siding Spring.
A professor at the University of Tennessee, Harry (Hap) McSween Jr. (b. 1945) has specialized in studies of martian meteorites, and he has led the way in integrating petrologic data with results from missions to Mars. He also makes planetary science understandable to the public with his numerous books.Naming citation (20001013/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where McSween is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: McSween is 3.75 au from the Sun and 4.64 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 5223 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 EX6 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 12.6 km (#3,871 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0400 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.23 |
| Orbital period | 5.70 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.62 – 3.77 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.180 |
| Inclination | 17.0° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.62 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 6 March 1981
- (3235) Melchior
- (3269) Vibert-Douglas
- (4564) Clayton
- (4965) Takeda
- (5664) Eugster
- (8068) Vishnureddy
- (8455) Johnrayner
- (8794) Joepatterson
- (9282) Lucylim
- (9287) Klima
- (10699) Calabrese
- (11464) Moser
More named asteroids discovered by S. J. Bus
- (2285) Ron Helin
- (2780) Monnig
- (2791) Paradise
- (2884) Reddish
- (2919) Dali
- (2980) Cameron
- (2981) Chagall
- (2990) Trimberger
- (3000) Leonardo
- (3029) Sanders
- (3030) Vehrenberg
- (3042) Zelinsky
← (5222) Ioffe · (5224) Abbe →