(8373) Stephengould Outer Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 1 January 1992 by Shoemaker, C. S., Shoemaker, E. M. at Palomar.

Stephen Jay Gould (b. 1941) is a biologist, geologist and historian of science at Harvard, but he may be best known for his long-running series of reflective articles in Natural History in which he has articulated his view of evolution. In 1972, working with Niles Eldredge, he developed his idea of “punctuated equilibrium”.Naming citation (19991123/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Stephengould is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Stephengould is 3.63 au from the Sun and 2.93 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	8373
Provisional designation	1992 AB
Orbit class	Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	5.75 km (#9,300 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.133
Rotation period	4.43 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.31
Orbital period	5.93 years
Semi-major axis	3.28 au
Perihelion – aphelion	1.46 – 5.10 au
Eccentricity	0.556
Inclination	40.8°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	0.639 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Stephen

All asteroids named after someone called Stephen

Also discovered on 1 January 1992

More named asteroids discovered by Shoemaker, C. S., Shoemaker, E. M.

All 165

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