(27758) Michelson Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 12 September 1991 by Borngen, F., Schmadel, L. D. at Tautenburg.
German-American physicist Albert Abraham Michelson (1852-1931), 1907 Nobel Physics Laureate, refuted the supposition of the ether and made an accurate determination of the speed of light. He also measured interferometrically the absolute diameters of several stars and resolved the structure of their spectral lines.Naming citation (20011101/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Michelson is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Michelson is 3.31 au from the Sun and 4.05 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 27758 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 RJ4 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.33 km (#10,006 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.156 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.04 |
| Orbital period | 5.27 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.03 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.74 – 3.32 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0949 |
| Inclination | 8.67° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.77 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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