(14917) Taco Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 8 January 1994 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.
Kenneth Dale “Taco” Cockrell (b. 1950), an engineer and pilot with NASA from 1987 to 1990, was then selected as an astronaut and flew on space shuttle missions STS-56, STS-69, STS-80, STS-98 and STS-111.Naming citation (20030614/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
🐶 Taco as a dog name🐱 Taco as a cat name
Where Taco is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Taco is 2.33 au from the Sun and 1.69 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 14917 |
| Provisional designation | 1994 AD11 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.41 km (#5,474 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.200 |
| Rotation period | 9.71 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.73 |
| Orbital period | 4.79 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.84 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.25 – 3.43 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.207 |
| Inclination | 12.4° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.28 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Kenneth
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- (4969) Lawrence
- (10107) Kenny
- (14075) Kenwill
- (16958) Klaasen
- (17156) Kennethseitz
- (17555) Kenkennedy
- (17930) Kennethott
- (18237) Kenfreeman
- (22580) Kenkaplan
- (25541) Greathouse
- (27267) Wiberg
All asteroids named after someone called Kenneth