(9681) Sherwoodrowland Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Frank Sherwood Rowland (b. 1927) was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry, awarded for work in atmospheric chemistry.Naming citation (20001111/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Sherwoodrowland is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Sherwoodrowland is 3.13 au from the Sun and 2.71 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9681 |
| Provisional designation | 4069 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.34 km (#7,270 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.143 |
| Rotation period | 0.620 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.61 |
| Orbital period | 5.40 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.08 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.93 – 3.22 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0475 |
| Inclination | 9.07° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.93 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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All asteroids named after someone called Frank
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
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