(57868) Pupin Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 December 2001 by NEAT at Palomar.
Mihajlo Pupin (1858-1935) was a Serbian-American physicist and humanitarian. He greatly improved long-distance telephone transmission and the sensitivity of X-ray detection, and worked for Serbian emigres. Name suggested by V. Benishek and F. Pilcher, who obtained the first rotational lightcurves for this object.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2016-03-23), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Pupin is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Pupin is 1.80 au from the Sun and 1.03 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 57868 |
| Provisional designation | 2001 YD |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.72 km (#9,345 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0450 |
| Rotation period | 108 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.5 |
| Orbital period | 3.68 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.38 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.78 – 2.99 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.254 |
| Inclination | 4.23° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.768 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.