(12139) Tomcowling Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Thomas G. Cowling (1906-1990), British astrophysicist, was the first to compute a stellar model with a convective core and a radiative envelope. He also developed much of the theory of magnetic fields in stars and magnetospheres.Naming citation (20071124/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tomcowling is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tomcowling is 2.15 au from the Sun and 2.73 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12139 |
| Provisional designation | 4055 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.06 km (#5,714 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0340 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.81 |
| Orbital period | 3.53 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.32 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.04 – 2.60 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.121 |
| Inclination | 3.08° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.04 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Thomas
- (4008) Corbin
- (4739) Tomahrens
- (4830) Thomascooley
- (4897) Tomhamilton
- (5548) Thosharriot
- (6019) Telford
- (6361) Koppel
- (8236) Gainsborough
- (8382) Mann
- (8793) Thomasmuller
- (9460) McGlynn
- (9536) Statler
All asteroids named after someone called Thomas
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites