(5803) Otzi Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 21 July 1984 by A. Mrkos at Klet.
Ötzi, or Iceman, is a popular name for a prehistoric man of the late Stone Age. His mummified body was found on the Similaun Glacier in the Tirolean Ötztal Alps, on the Italian-Austrian border in 1991. The name was proposed by M. Tichy.Naming citation (20000523/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Otzi is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Otzi is 2.72 au from the Sun and 3.59 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 5803 |
| Provisional designation | 1984 OA |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 15.6 km (#2,985 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0700 |
| Rotation period | 3.63 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.73 |
| Orbital period | 4.29 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.64 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.07 – 3.21 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.217 |
| Inclination | 16.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.07 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.