(38442) Szilard Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1999 by Sarneczky, K., Szabo, G. at Piszkesteto.
Hungarian-American physicist Leó Szilárd (1898-1964) conceived the nuclear chain reaction and worked with Fermi on the first nuclear reactor. After World War II he changed his research field to molecular biology because of his horror of nuclear weapons. He was a founder of the Council for a Livable World.Naming citation (20070730/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Szilard is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Szilard is 3.08 au from the Sun and 4.03 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 38442 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 SU6 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.62 km (#11,396 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.208 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.17 |
| Orbital period | 4.94 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.90 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.68 – 3.13 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0773 |
| Inclination | 0.891° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.66 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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