(31872) Terkan Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 13 March 2000 by Sarneczky, K., Szabo, G. at Piszkesteto.
Lajos Terkán (1887-1940) was a member of the staff of the Konkoly Observatory from 1900 to 1935. He had a significant role in organizing and rebuilding the observatory in Budapest in 1921. He also proposed and initiated the photographic observation of comets and minor planets there.Naming citation (20080122/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Terkan is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Terkan is 2.56 au from the Sun and 1.73 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 31872 |
| Provisional designation | 2000 EL106 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.77 km (#13,293 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0600 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 16.01 |
| Orbital period | 3.57 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.34 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.02 – 2.65 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.134 |
| Inclination | 3.08° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.02 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.