(7980) Senkevich Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 3 October 1978 by N. S. Chernykh at Nauchnyj.
Yurij Aleksandrovich Senkevich (b. 1937) is a scientist at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He prepared space biological experiments, worked at the Antarctic station “Vostok”, took part in three of Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions and is a popular television journalist.Naming citation (20020624/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Senkevich is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Senkevich is 2.75 au from the Sun and 2.38 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7980 |
| Provisional designation | 1978 TD2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.32 km (#12,000 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.413 |
| Rotation period | 10.4 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.74 |
| Orbital period | 4.73 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.82 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.60 – 3.04 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0784 |
| Inclination | 1.64° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.59 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.