(6738) Tanabe Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 March 1993 by Endate, K., Watanabe, K. at Kitami.
Named in honor of Hiroyoshi Tanabe (b. 1928), astronomer at the National Astronomical Observatory (formerly known as the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory) during 1953-1989. Tanabe's research field is the light of the night sky. He made extensive ground-based observations of the gegenschein, the first rocket observation of the inner zodiacal light and outer corona, and he estimated the background light by making star counts in various regions of the sky. He made regular airglow observations for 33 years, Tanabe served as president of IAU Commission 21 during 1979-1982 and was an officer of the Astronomical Society of Japan for many years.Naming citation (19980610/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tanabe is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tanabe is 2.70 au from the Sun and 2.75 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 6738 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 FD1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.71 |
| Orbital period | 3.58 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.34 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.97 – 2.71 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.159 |
| Inclination | 0.479° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.983 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.