(6870) Pauldavies Inner Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 28 July 1992 by R. H. McNaught at Siding Spring.

Named for Paul C. W. Davies (b. 1946), a British mathematical physicist resident in Australia, with research interests in cosmology, quantum gravity, astrophysics and the origin of life, who also has an international reputation as an author and broadcaster. His books range from the scholarly Quantum Fields in Curved Space (with N. D. Birrell) to the popular About Time. He has a long-standing interest in the relationship between science and theology, summarized in his well-known book The Mind of God. His contributions to this field were recognized in 1995 with the award of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Davies has been a vociferous supporter of the need for search programs for near-Earth objects. Name proposed and citation prepared by D. I. Steel and the discoverer.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #28, 6), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Pauldavies is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Pauldavies is 2.07 au from the Sun and 2.63 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	6870
Provisional designation	1992 OG
Orbit class	Inner Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	2.55 km (#16,170 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.750
Rotation period	4.49 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.02
Orbital period	2.68 years
Semi-major axis	1.93 au
Perihelion – aphelion	1.71 – 2.15 au
Eccentricity	0.113
Inclination	24.9°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	0.792 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Paul

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Also discovered on 28 July 1992

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