(79694) Nanrendong Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 25 September 1998 by Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program at Xinglong.
Nan Rendong (1945-2017) was a leading astronomer, Vice-President and President of IAU Division X (2003-2009). Hailed as 'Father of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST)', he led the efforts from initiation, implementation, to completion of FAST, and served as Chief Scientist and Chief Engineer.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2018-09-25), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Nanrendong is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Nanrendong is 2.02 au from the Sun and 1.35 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 79694 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 SZ62 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 1.73 km (#17,254 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.338 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.84 |
| Orbital period | 4.03 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.53 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.98 – 3.09 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.220 |
| Inclination | 3.14° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.975 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 25 September 1998
- (11739) Baton Rouge
- (13330) Dondavis
- (13748) Radaly
- (14148) Jimchamberlin
- (46925) Bradyharan
- (69869) Haining
- (181829) Houyunde