(242830) Richardwessling Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 21 February 2006 by R. Holmes at Charleston.
Richard J. Wessling (b. 1935) worked at U.S. Precision Lens for 35 years, making telescope mirrors from the early 1960s onwards and opening the Pines Optical Shop in 1991. Richard made hundreds of telescope mirrors and built dozens of telescopes that can be found in the hands of astronomers throughout the United States.Naming citation (20111210/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Richardwessling is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Richardwessling is 2.96 au from the Sun and 2.89 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 242830 |
| Provisional designation | 2006 DK8 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.64 km (#11,344 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0470 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.67 |
| Orbital period | 5.37 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.07 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.96 – 3.17 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0340 |
| Inclination | 11.1° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.99 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Richard
- (4143) Huziak
- (4252) Godwin
- (5391) Emmons
- (5567) Durisen
- (6368) Richardmenendez
- (6893) Sanderson
- (7392) Kowalski
- (7845) Mckim
- (7966) Richardbaum
- (8331) Dawkins
- (8717) Richviktorov
- (9725) Wainscoat
All asteroids named after someone called Richard