(8672) Morse Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 August 1991 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) was an American painter and inventor who in 1838 developed the code of dots and dashes that now bears his name. After constructing the first telegraph between Baltimore and Washington, he became a philanthropist.Naming citation (20021120/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Morse is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Morse is 2.44 au from the Sun and 1.44 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8672 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 PW16 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.73 km (#15,785 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.410 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.64 |
| Orbital period | 3.85 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.45 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.05 – 2.86 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.163 |
| Inclination | 3.40° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.04 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Samuel
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- (4321) Zero
- (9126) Samcoulson
- (9465) Fergusonsam
- (9687) Uhlenbeck
- (11686) Samuelweissman
- (12911) Goodhue
- (17971) Samuelhowell
- (20656) Samuelgrant
- (21351) Bhagwat
- (25604) Karlin
- (28642) Zbarsky
All asteroids named after someone called Samuel
Also discovered on 6 August 1991
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- (7062) Meslier
- (8279) Cuzco
- (8857) Cercidiphyllum
- (8858) Cornus
- (9342) Carygrant
- (9860) Archaeopteryx
- (10781) Ritter
- (12298) Brecht
- (13064) Haemhouts
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