(31618) Tharakan Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 April 1999 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Serena Margaret Tharakan (b. 1996) was awarded second place in the 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for her medicine and health sciences team project. She attends the Academy for Medical Science Technology, Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.A.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2015-07-02), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tharakan is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tharakan is 2.13 au from the Sun and 2.97 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 31618 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 GE18 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.17 km (#16,817 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.494 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.91 |
| Orbital period | 3.38 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.25 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.12 – 2.39 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0605 |
| Inclination | 7.16° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.12 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Serena
All asteroids named after someone called Serena
Also discovered on 15 April 1999
- (16039) Zeglin
- (17059) Elvis
- (17063) Papaloizou
- (17064) Ashnashah
- (17065) Shrilashah
- (17066) Ginagallant
- (17069) Adyantshankar
- (17070) Yanniksingh
- (17071) Spiride
- (17917) Cartan
- (17921) Aldeobaldia
- (17923) Strother