(5627) Short Inner Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 16 June 1991 by R. H. McNaught at Siding Spring.
James Short (1710–1768) was a renowned Scottish telescope maker, being much in demand due to the high quality of his optics. His telescopes were used in the Royal Society observations of the 1761 and 1769 transits of Venus. He supported John Harrison and his chronometer and James Watt.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 2, #1, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Short is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Short is 1.86 au from the Sun and 2.76 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 5627 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 MA |
| Orbit class | Inner Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.68 km (#15,905 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.519 |
| Rotation period | 5.37 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.38 |
| Orbital period | 2.57 years |
| Semi-major axis | 1.88 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.84 – 1.92 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0209 |
| Inclination | 26.4° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.824 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called James
- (4445) Jimstratton
- (5310) Papike
- (5594) Jimmiller
- (5625) Jamesferguson
- (5680) Nasmyth
- (5961) Watt
- (6130) Hutton
- (6758) Jesseowens
- (8146) Jimbell
- (8621) Jimparsons
- (9007) James Bond
- (9420) Dewar
All asteroids named after someone called James