(20717) Shogotachibana Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 7 December 1999 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Shogo Tachibana (b. 1973) is a Japanese cosmochemist conducting laboratory experiments on chemical reactions in space. He contributed to JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission through setting up the science goals, developing the sampling system, and leading the analysis of samples returned from asteroid Ryugu. Shogo is also a co-investigator of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 6, #11, 34), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Shogotachibana is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Shogotachibana is 2.79 au from the Sun and 1.99 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 20717 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 XG93 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.00 km (#7,646 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.227 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.23 |
| Orbital period | 4.70 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.81 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.61 – 3.01 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0718 |
| Inclination | 7.64° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.62 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 7 December 1999
- (13438) Marthanalexander
- (13845) Jillburnett
- (13848) Cioffi
- (13849) Dunn
- (13850) Erman
- (13852) Ford
- (13853) Jenniferfritz
- (14225) Alisahamilton
- (14226) Hamura
- (14230) Mariahines
- (14679) Susanreed
- (16118) Therberens