(12919) Tomjohnson Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 11 November 1998 by CSS at Catalina.
Thomas J. Johnson (b. 1923) developed a technique for creating Schmidt telescope correctors that allowed the mass production of Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. In 1978 the Optical Society of America awarded him the David Richardson Medal for this work.Naming citation (20100923/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tomjohnson is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tomjohnson is 2.22 au from the Sun and 1.59 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12919 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 VB6 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.88 km (#10,850 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.245 |
| Rotation period | 8.15 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.99 |
| Orbital period | 3.43 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.27 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.78 – 2.77 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.218 |
| Inclination | 6.37° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.776 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 11 November 1998
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- (13793) Laubernasconi
- (13801) Kohlhase
- (14632) Flensburg
- (25259) Lucarnold
- (27110) Annemaryvonne
- (28173) Hisakichi
- (33334) Turon
- (33335) Guibert
- (44456) Vidal-Madjar
- (47018) Chopinet
- (56018) Yujawang