(18242) Peebles Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.

Princeton theoretical cosmologist Jim Peebles (b. 1935) plays a central role in the understanding of the evolution and structure of the universe. His studies of the evolution of matter in the earliest moments of the universe were critical in the establishment of the Big Bang theory as a widely accepted hypothesis.Naming citation (20040306/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

🐶 Peebles as a dog name

Where Peebles is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Peebles is 2.42 au from the Sun and 2.86 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	18242
Provisional designation	2102 T-2
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Rotation period	4.25 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	15.59
Orbital period	3.61 years
Semi-major axis	2.35 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.01 – 2.70 au
Eccentricity	0.146
Inclination	2.54°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.02 au

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

Also named after someone called Jim

All asteroids named after someone called Jim

Also discovered on 29 September 1973

More named asteroids discovered by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T.

All 958

← (18241) Genzel · (18243) Gunn →