(42566) Ryutaro Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 3 December 1996 by T. Seki at Geisei.
Ryutaro Hirota (1892-1952), a renowned Japanese composer, was born in Aki city, Kochi prefecture and studied musical composition at Tokyo Music School. He composed many children's songs, which have been enjoyed by many generations of Japanese.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2017-01-12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ryutaro is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ryutaro is 2.49 au from the Sun and 3.23 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 42566 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 XQ25 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.67 km (#15,916 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.325 |
| Rotation period | 6.41 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.24 |
| Orbital period | 3.64 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.37 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.80 – 2.94 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.240 |
| Inclination | 6.00° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.818 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.