(8587) Ruficollis Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 25 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named for Tachybaptus ruficollis, or little grebe.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 2, #8, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ruficollis is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ruficollis is 2.23 au from the Sun and 2.60 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8587 |
| Provisional designation | 3078 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.12 km (#14,909 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.378 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.59 |
| Orbital period | 3.60 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.35 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.13 – 2.57 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0932 |
| Inclination | 5.22° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.14 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 25 September 1960
More named asteroids discovered by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T.
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1778) Alfven
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1813) Imhotep
← (8586) Epops · (8588) Avosetta →