(25159) Michaelwest Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 September 1998 by LONEOS at Anderson Mesa.
Michael West (b. 1959) is the Deputy Director for Science at Lowell Observatory. His research focuses on star clusters and galaxies. He was PI for six Hubble Space Telescope projects and has authored two books, including A Sky Wonderful with Stars.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2017-03-12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Michaelwest is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Michaelwest is 2.34 au from the Sun and 1.35 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 25159 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 SN57 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 10.6 km (#4,787 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0690 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.75 |
| Orbital period | 4.63 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.78 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.34 – 3.22 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.159 |
| Inclination | 2.18° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.34 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Michael
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- (7738) Heyman
- (7936) Mikemagee
- (8032) Michaeladams
- (8129) Michaelbusch
All asteroids named after someone called Michael
Also discovered on 17 September 1998
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