(6812) Robertnelson Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 7 November 1978 by Helin, E. F., Bus, S. J. at Palomar.
Robert M. Nelson (b. 1943) has advanced the understanding of spectrophotometric and angular scattering properties of planetary regoliths, served on Voyager and Cassini instrument teams, and was the Project Scientist for Deep Space 1. He is a strong advocate for scientist privacy rights.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2018-09-25), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Robertnelson is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Robertnelson is 2.81 au from the Sun and 2.80 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6812 |
| Provisional designation | 1978 VJ8 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.20 km (#5,620 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.125 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.4 |
| Orbital period | 5.53 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.13 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.75 – 3.50 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.120 |
| Inclination | 0.885° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.74 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Robert
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