(25302) Niim Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 9 December 1998 by N. Sato at Chichibu.
Yoshihiro Niim is an engineer who made substantial contributions to the Hayabusa mission, which is designed to return a surface sample from (25143) Itokawa, and to the launch of the Japanese large rocket H-II A7 at Tanegashima Space Center.Naming citation (20050919/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Niim is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Niim is 2.94 au from the Sun and 3.77 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 25302 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 XW3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 12.1 km (#4,031 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.191 |
| Rotation period | 2.98 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.38 |
| Orbital period | 5.32 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.05 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.91 – 3.19 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0454 |
| Inclination | 10.3° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.94 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Yoshihiro
- (6908) Kunimoto
- (13576) Gotoyoshi
- (16719) Mizokami
- (19210) Higayoshihiro
- (21036) Nakamurayoshi
- (23676) Tomitayoshihiro
- (32288) Terui
All asteroids named after someone called Yoshihiro