(12259) Szukalski Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 September 1989 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Polish-born sculptor Charles Albert Szukalski (1945-2000), working in Antwerp, sometimes used very eccentric means for establishing his work. One of his foremost pieces of art concerns “La Cena”, a monument of 13 statues that has been erected in the Nevada desert.Naming citation (20000320/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Szukalski is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Szukalski is 2.42 au from the Sun and 2.83 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12259 |
| Provisional designation | 1989 SZ1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.02 km (#12,688 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.228 |
| Rotation period | 5.99 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.51 |
| Orbital period | 3.25 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.84 – 2.55 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.161 |
| Inclination | 4.18° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.832 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Charles
- (1991) Darwin
- (4603) Bertaud
- (4939) Scovil
- (5202) Charleseliot
- (7011) Worley
- (7781) Townsend
- (9714) Piazzismyth
- (10320) Reiland
- (11356) Chuckjones
- (11778) Kingsford Smith
- (11849) Fauvel
- (13801) Kohlhase
All asteroids named after someone called Charles
Also discovered on 26 September 1989
- (4798) Mercator
- (5351) Diderot
- (5873) Archilochos
- (6240) Lucretius Carus
- (6777) Balakirev
- (6826) Lavoisier
- (7056) Kierkegaard
- (7647) Etrepigny
- (7934) Sinatra
- (8488) d'Argens
- (8649) Juglans
- (8834) Anacardium