(8961) Schoenobaenus Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named for Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, or sedge warbler.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 2, #8, 7), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Schoenobaenus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Schoenobaenus is 2.84 au from the Sun and 3.83 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8961 |
| Provisional designation | 2702 P-L |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.48 km (#5,426 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0710 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.87 |
| Orbital period | 5.78 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.22 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.83 – 3.62 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.123 |
| Inclination | 1.10° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.83 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites