(22177) Saotome Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 December 2000 by BATTeRS at Bisei SG Center.
Masatoshi Saotome (b. 1940) is one of the directors of the Japan Space Forum. He contributed greatly to the construction of Bisei Spaceguard Center.Naming citation (20020328/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Saotome is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Saotome is 2.72 au from the Sun and 3.00 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 22177 |
| Provisional designation | 2000 XS38 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 22.1 km (#1,956 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0570 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.31 |
| Orbital period | 5.64 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.17 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.72 – 3.62 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.141 |
| Inclination | 23.9° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.73 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Masatoshi
All asteroids named after someone called Masatoshi