(6952) Niccolo Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 May 1986 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.
Named for Niccolò Fulchignoni (b. 1991), second son of Marcello Fulchignoni and M. Antonietta Barucci, planetary scientists at the Observatoire de Paris. Niccolò is the “Renaissance” Italian form of the name Nikolaus (northern Europe's Santa Claus) and has been given to distinguished personalities of the arts, literature and philosophy---Paganini, Tommaseo and Machiavelli, for example. Name suggested and citation provided by M. Fulchignoni.Naming citation (19980211/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Niccolo is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Niccolo is 2.30 au from the Sun and 1.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6952 |
| Provisional designation | 1986 JT |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 16.0 km (#2,902 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0480 |
| Rotation period | 12.5 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.1 |
| Orbital period | 4.95 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.90 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.13 – 3.68 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.266 |
| Inclination | 7.49° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.13 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.