(2042) Sitarski Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named in honor of Grzegorz Sitarski, astronomer at the Polish Academy of Sciences well known for his studies of the motions of comets, including consideration of nongravitational effects. He has recently succeeded in dynamically linking the observations made of (1862) Apollo and (2101) Adonis in the 1930s and the 1970s. Currently involved in an extensive program of new orbit determinations of one-apparition comets, he has since 1979 been President of IAU Commission 20.Naming citation (MPC 5523), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Sitarski is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Sitarski is 2.95 au from the Sun and 3.95 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 2042 |
| Provisional designation | 4633 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 2.63 hours |
| Spectral type | Sq |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.84 |
| Orbital period | 4.56 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.75 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.33 – 3.17 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.153 |
| Inclination | 5.32° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.35 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Grzegorz
All asteroids named after someone called Grzegorz
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