(12405) Nespoli Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 September 1995 by Manca, F., Giuliani, V. at Sormano.
Paolo Angelo Nespoli (b. 1957) joined the European Space Agency's European Astronaut Center in 1991 and its European Astronaut Corps in 1998. The second Italian Mission Specialist, he made his first flight aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2007 for the construction of the International Space Station.Naming citation (20071124/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Nespoli is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Nespoli is 2.61 au from the Sun and 3.37 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12405 |
| Provisional designation | 1995 RK |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.39 km (#16,466 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.338 |
| Rotation period | 13.2 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.03 |
| Orbital period | 3.66 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.37 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.11 – 2.64 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.112 |
| Inclination | 5.19° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.10 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Paolo
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All asteroids named after someone called Paolo