(17078) Sellers Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 24 April 1999 by J. Broughton at Reedy Creek.

Peter Sellers (1925-1980) was an English character actor whose extraordinary abilities of mimicry and comedic characterization first blossomed in BBC radio's The Goon Show. He later became a star of Hollywood films such as Dr. Strangelove and The Pink Panther.Naming citation (20010509/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Sellers is today

MercuryVenusEarthEarthMarsMarsSellersSellers

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Sellers is 2.64 au from the Sun and 1.81 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number17078
Provisional designation1999 HD3
Orbit classMain-belt Asteroid
Diameter9.99 km (#5,103 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo0.0930
Absolute magnitude (H)13.54
Orbital period5.18 years
Semi-major axis3.00 au
Perihelion – aphelion2.64 – 3.35 au
Eccentricity0.117
Inclination13.6°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)1.66 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Peter

Also discovered on 24 April 1999

More named asteroids discovered by J. Broughton