(10557) Rowland Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 September 1993 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Henry Rowland (1848-1901) was an American physicist who in 1885 developed a machine capable of engraving as many as 20~000 lines per inch for the construction of diffraction gratings. His invention of the concave diffraction grating revolutionized spectrum analysis.Naming citation (20000320/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Rowland is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Rowland is 2.28 au from the Sun and 2.04 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 10557 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 RL5 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.06 km (#8,831 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0870 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.48 |
| Orbital period | 3.59 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.35 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.20 – 2.49 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0611 |
| Inclination | 2.59° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.20 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Henry
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- (13806) Darmstrong
- (17857) Hsieh
- (18979) Henryfong
- (19454) Henrymarr
- (27365) Henryfitz
- (28118) Vaux
All asteroids named after someone called Henry
Also discovered on 15 September 1993
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