(6585) O'Keefe Mars-crossing Asteroid
Discovered on 26 September 1984 by Shoemaker, C. S., Shoemaker, E. M. at Palomar.
Named in honor of John Aloysius O'Keefe (b. 1916), American astronomer and a leading figure in establishing the Theoretical Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. He is renowned for his discovery of the “pear shape” of the gravitational field of the Earth from observations of the first artificial satellites. He is one of the leading students of tektites and has stimulated much interest and research on these natural glasses and played a key role in helping to found the astrogeology program of the U.S. Geological Survey.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #20, 4), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where O'Keefe is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: O'Keefe is 3.19 au from the Sun and 4.07 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6585 |
| Provisional designation | 1984 SR |
| Orbit class | Mars-crossing Asteroid |
| Spectral type | Sk |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.56 |
| Orbital period | 3.65 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.37 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.52 – 3.22 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.358 |
| Inclination | 22.4° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.629 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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