(12492) Tanais Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 3 May 1997 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
The Don, known to the Greeks as the Tanais, is a major Russian river. From its source near the city of Tula, the river flows generally in a southeasterly direction, turning to the west near Volgograd near its closest point to the Volga. The river empties into the sea of Azov.Naming citation (20070730/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tanais is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tanais is 2.75 au from the Sun and 3.41 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12492 |
| Provisional designation | 1997 JP16 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.28 km (#7,333 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.253 |
| Rotation period | 3.01 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.21 |
| Orbital period | 4.85 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.87 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.74 – 2.99 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0430 |
| Inclination | 3.55° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.73 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 3 May 1997
- (9239) van Riebeeck
- (9446) Cicero
- (9447) Julesbordet
- (10612) Houffalize
- (11349) Witten
- (12052) Aretaon
- (12490) Leiden
- (12491) Musschenbroek
- (12845) Crick
- (13211) Stucky
- (13212) Jayleno
- (13213) Maclaurin