(9880) Stegosaurus Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 12 August 1994 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Stegosaurus was a large dinosaur, 6 to 9 meters long, with a characteristic double row of large bony plates along the back. A herbivorous dinosaur, it lived in Jurassic and Cretaceous times.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #15, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Stegosaurus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Stegosaurus is 2.05 au from the Sun and 2.07 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9880 |
| Provisional designation | 1994 PQ31 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.62 km (#16,014 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.281 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.87 |
| Orbital period | 3.46 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.29 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.03 – 2.54 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.110 |
| Inclination | 3.47° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.05 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 12 August 1994
- (7142) Spinoza
- (8550) Hesiodos
- (9640) Lippens
- (9641) Demaziere
- (9778) Isabelallende
- (9879) Mammuthus
- (10151) Rubens
- (10361) Bunsen
- (10841) Ericforbes
- (11095) Havana
- (11583) Breuer
- (11965) Catullus