(9138) Murdoch Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named in memory of Jean Iris Murdoch (1919-1999), prolific novelist and philosopher, whose 26 moralist-existentialist fictional works in 41 years earned her a place among the leading twentieth-century writers in the English language. Already suffering from Alzheimer's disease when her last novel was published in 1995, Murdoch was lovingly cared for by her husband, the critic John Bayley, whose recent Elegy for Iris is a penetrating study of conflicting emotions.Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
👶 Murdoch as a baby name🐶 Murdoch as a dog name
Where Murdoch is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Murdoch is 2.08 au from the Sun and 3.02 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9138 |
| Provisional designation | 2280 T-2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.09 km (#14,991 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.294 |
| Rotation period | 3.93 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.82 |
| Orbital period | 3.22 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.07 – 2.30 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0518 |
| Inclination | 3.13° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.08 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Jean
- (2221) Chilton
- (2267) Agassiz
- (3821) Sonet
- (8116) Jeanperrin
- (8604) Vanier
- (9968) Serpe
- (10111) Fresnel
- (10215) Lavilledemirmont
- (10440) van Swinden
- (12286) Poiseuille
- (12498) Dragesco
- (12611) Ingres
All asteroids named after someone called Jean
Also discovered on 29 September 1973
- (2049) Grietje
- (4357) Korinthos
- (4549) Burkhardt
- (4721) Atahualpa
- (4752) Myron
- (4876) Strabo
- (4978) Seitz
- (5151) Weerstra
- (5197) Rottmann
- (5243) Clasien
- (5244) Amphilochos
- (5266) Rauch