(12620) Simaqian Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Sima Qian (c.145 B.C.–c. 85 B.C.) was a Chinese historian, counselor and court astrologer of the Han emperor Wu Di. He wrote a treatise on the Chinese calendar. His Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) contains the earliest systematical description of the Chinese constellations.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #15, 6), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Simaqian is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Simaqian is 3.47 au from the Sun and 2.49 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12620 |
| Provisional designation | 6335 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.91 |
| Orbital period | 5.45 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.10 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.65 – 3.54 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.144 |
| Inclination | 0.919° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.64 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites