(8958) Stargazer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 23 March 1998 by J. Broughton at Reedy Creek.
This name honors in general those who since time immemorial have gazed up at the night sky in wonderment. It honors in particular the noble pursuit of amateur astronomy.Naming citation (20011230/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Stargazer is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Stargazer is 2.52 au from the Sun and 1.60 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8958 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 FJ126 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.02 km (#8,905 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.256 |
| Rotation period | 16.0 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.42 |
| Orbital period | 4.45 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.71 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.50 – 2.91 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0769 |
| Inclination | 2.60° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.49 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 23 March 1998
- (11167) Kunzak
- (11364) Karlstejn
- (11365) NASA
- (20256) Adolfneckar
- (37859) Bobkoff
- (39890) Bobstephens
- (39892) Evaseidlova