(7616) Sadako Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 November 1996 by T. Kobayashi at Oizumi.
Sadako Sasaki (1943-1955) was exposed to radiation from the Hiroshima atom bomb and suffered from leukemia. She tried to fold 1000 paper cranes in prayer for recovery, but in vain. Impressed by her story, children around the world raised funds and built the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.Naming citation (20030614/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Sadako is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Sadako is 2.82 au from the Sun and 2.60 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7616 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 VF2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 12.2 km (#4,011 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.227 |
| Rotation period | 11.0 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.14 |
| Orbital period | 5.20 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.00 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.67 – 3.33 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.109 |
| Inclination | 9.39° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.68 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 6 November 1996
- (8574) Makotoirie
- (9099) Kenjitanabe
- (10880) Kaguya
- (17656) Hayabusa
- (17657) Himawari
- (18520) Wolfratshausen
- (18524) Tagatoshihiro
- (19313) Shibatakazunari
- (22454) Rosalylopes
- (27917) Edoardo
- (27918) Azusagawa