(9609) Ponomarevalya Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 August 1992 by L. I. Chernykh at Nauchnyj.
Valentina Leonidovna Ponomareva (b. 1934), of the Institute of History of Science and Technology, is a specialist on aircraft and spacecraft. One of five members of the Soviet female cosmonaut team, she was a back-up pilot for the spaceflight by Valentina Tereshkova in 1963.Naming citation (20020624/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ponomarevalya is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ponomarevalya is 3.28 au from the Sun and 4.09 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9609 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 QL2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 11.6 km (#4,267 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.173 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.61 |
| Orbital period | 5.22 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.01 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.72 – 3.30 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0955 |
| Inclination | 9.37° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.73 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Valentina
- (7727) Chepurova
- (10712) Malashchuk
- (10729) Tsvetkova
- (15230) Alona
- (43025) Valusha
- (79382) Aliprandi
- (113620) Valelucarotti
- (145820) Valeromeo
All asteroids named after someone called Valentina