(46441) Mikepenston Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 10 June 2002 by Juels, C. W., Holvorcem, P. R. at Fountain Hills.
Michael Penston (1943-1990) was a British observational astronomer who spent the majority of his career at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. He studied the power sources of active galaxies and determined the mass of the central object (thought to be a black hole) in the AGN of NGC 4151. The name was suggested by K. Tritton.Naming citation (20040107/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Mikepenston is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Mikepenston is 3.07 au from the Sun and 3.98 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 46441 |
| Provisional designation | 2002 LE30 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 11.8 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.23 |
| Orbital period | 4.25 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.62 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.17 – 3.07 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.171 |
| Inclination | 12.1° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.21 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Michael
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- (4477) Kelley
- (4599) Rowan
- (5373) Michaelkurtz
- (5554) Keesey
- (5569) Colby
- (6406) Mikejura
- (6569) Ondaatje
- (7738) Heyman
- (7936) Mikemagee
- (8032) Michaeladams
- (8129) Michaelbusch
All asteroids named after someone called Michael