(233472) Moorcroft Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 25 May 2006 by P. A. Wiegert at Mauna Kea.

Donald Ross Moorcroft (b. 1935) is a Canadian physicist who did much to advance the field of radar backscatter from the auroral E-region ionosphere. He was the Chair of the Department of Physics of the University of Western Ontario from 1989 to 1998.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2013-04-25), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Moorcroft is today

MercuryVenusEarthEarthMarsMarsMoorcroftMoorcroft

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Moorcroft is 3.09 au from the Sun and 3.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number233472
Provisional designation2006 KB143
Orbit classMain-belt Asteroid
Absolute magnitude (H)16.58
Orbital period5.10 years
Semi-major axis2.96 au
Perihelion – aphelion2.77 – 3.15 au
Eccentricity0.0641
Inclination1.74°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)1.77 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Donald

Also discovered on 25 May 2006

More named asteroids discovered by P. A. Wiegert