(2238) Steshenko Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 11 September 1972 by N. S. Chernykh at Nauchnyj.
Named in honor of Nikolaj Vladimirovich Steshenko, deputy director of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, whose comprehensive support has contributed to the success of the program for the discovery and observation of minor planets. Well-known for his work in solar physics, he is in charge of the program of solar observations from space, and he is the author of the design for the Soviet 25-m-diameter mosaic optical telescope.Naming citation (MPC 5850), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Steshenko is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Steshenko is 2.83 au from the Sun and 1.92 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 2238 |
| Provisional designation | 1972 RQ1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 15.0 km (#3,148 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0860 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.63 |
| Orbital period | 5.36 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.06 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.53 – 3.60 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.176 |
| Inclination | 1.31° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.51 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Nikolaj
- (2233) Kuznetsov
- (2342) Lebedev
- (3958) Komendantov
- (4067) Mikhel'son
- (4208) Kiselev
- (4233) Pal'chikov
- (4654) Gor'kavyj
- (5075) Goryachev
- (5087) Emel'yanov
- (5158) Ogarev
- (6483) Nikolajvasil'ev
- (6575) Slavov
All asteroids named after someone called Nikolaj
Also discovered on 11 September 1972
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- (1908) Pobeda
- (2113) Ehrdni
- (2164) Lyalya
- (2178) Kazakhstania
- (7073) Rudbelia
- (7725) Sel'vinskij
- (22249) Dvorets Pionerov