(1604) Tombaugh Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 March 1931 by C. O. Lampland at Flagstaff.
Named by the Lowell Observatory for Clyde W. Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, on the occasion of a symposium on Pluto, held on the fiftieth anniversary of its discovery, 1980 Feb. 18. Tombaugh marked, during the course of his blink examination, over 4000 minor planets on plates obtained with the 0.33-m photographic telescope during the trans-Saturnian search program at the Lowell Observatory.Naming citation (MPC 5280), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tombaugh is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tombaugh is 3.08 au from the Sun and 3.90 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 1604 |
| Provisional designation | 1931 FH |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 32.3 km (#1,266 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.104 |
| Rotation period | 7.24 hours |
| Spectral type | XSCU |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 10.63 |
| Orbital period | 5.25 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.02 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.70 – 3.34 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.105 |
| Inclination | 9.39° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.70 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Lowell
- (8620) Lowkevrudolph
- (10709) Ottofranz
- (10730) White
- (12164) Lowellgreen
- (12574) LONEOS
- (28052) Lowellputnam
- (129050) Lowellcogburn