(11944) Shaftesbury Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 July 1993 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury (1671-1713) was an English politician and philosopher. Educated by philosopher John Locke, he soon developed his own school of thought. His philosophy was also influenced by the “Cambridge Platonists”, who stressed the existence of a natural moral sense.Naming citation (20000523/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Shaftesbury is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Shaftesbury is 2.86 au from the Sun and 3.85 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 11944 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 OK9 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.91 km (#7,760 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.213 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.39 |
| Orbital period | 4.90 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.89 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.83 – 2.94 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0194 |
| Inclination | 2.98° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.81 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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