(6205) Menottigalli Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 July 1983 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.
Named in honor of Menotti Galli (b. 1922), a physicist at the University of Bologna. Galli's research activity began with the study of cosmic rays and meteorites and was subsequently extended to the physics of the sun and the heliosphere. He has studied sun-earth relationships, cosmogenic isotopes and radiocarbon in tree rings. He suggested searching for microparticles embedded in the resin of trees surviving the Tunguska explosion, and he participated in the 1991 expedition to collect the necessary wood samples, with the result that a group of elements was identified as possible constituents of the Tunguska body. Name suggested and citation provided by M. di Martino.Naming citation (19990202/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Menottigalli is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Menottigalli is 2.20 au from the Sun and 2.81 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6205 |
| Provisional designation | 1983 OD |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 8.21 km (#6,384 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.121 |
| Rotation period | 15.3 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.8 |
| Orbital period | 3.63 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.36 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.81 – 2.91 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.233 |
| Inclination | 13.8° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.819 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.