(15608) Owens Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 7 April 2000 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Named in honor of Alexander C. Owens for achievement as a finalist in the 2001 Discovery Young Scientist Challenge (DYSC), a middle school science competition. Alexander is a student at the Tanque Verde Elementary School, Tucson, Arizona.Naming citation (20011002/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Owens is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Owens is 2.41 au from the Sun and 1.45 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 15608 |
| Provisional designation | 2000 GK124 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.66 km (#15,940 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.475 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.64 |
| Orbital period | 3.54 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.32 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.22 – 2.42 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0421 |
| Inclination | 7.34° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.23 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Alexander
- (1688) Wilkens
- (4837) Bickerton
- (6941) Dalgarno
- (7660) Alexanderwilson
- (8479) Held
- (8486) Asherschel
- (8795) Dudorov
- (11781) Alexroberts
- (15434) Mittal
- (17073) Alexblank
- (21397) Leontovich
- (21461) Alexchernyak
All asteroids named after someone called Alexander
Also discovered on 7 April 2000
- (15599) Richardlarson
- (15603) Kimyoonji
- (15604) Fruits
- (15609) Kosmaczewski
- (15611) Leejoonyoung
- (15612) Parkmincheol
- (15614) Pillinger
- (16238) Chappe
- (16239) Dower
- (16241) Dvorsky
- (16242) Licato
- (16245) Katielu