(8626) Melissarauch Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 2 March 1981 by S. J. Bus at Siding Spring.
American actress and comedian Melissa Ivy Rauch (b. 1980) portrays microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski in the television sitcom The Big Bang Theory.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #12, 12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Melissarauch is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Melissarauch is 3.20 au from the Sun and 4.19 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8626 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 EC18 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.27 km (#12,126 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.222 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.46 |
| Orbital period | 5.64 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.17 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.84 – 3.50 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.104 |
| Inclination | 6.18° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.83 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Melissa
- (5626) Melissabrucker
- (13308) Melissamayne
- (14584) Lawson
- (15624) Lamberton
- (17928) Neuwirth
- (20534) Bozeman
- (21744) Meliselinger
- (21919) Luga
- (23176) Missacarvell
- (26334) Melimcdowell
- (28788) Hayes-Gehrke
- (28976) Sevigny
All asteroids named after someone called Melissa
Also discovered on 2 March 1981
- (2884) Reddish
- (2919) Dali
- (2980) Cameron
- (2981) Chagall
- (2990) Trimberger
- (3000) Leonardo
- (3121) Tamines
- (3122) Florence
- (3207) Spinrad
- (3252) Johnny
- (3304) Pearce
- (3524) Schulz