(18996) Torasan Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 September 2000 by K. Watanabe at Sapporo.
Japanese actor Kiyoshi “Tora-san” Atsumi (1928-1996) is known for his roles in the film It's tough being a man and in the “Tora-san” series, of which there were 48 installments during 1969-1995. The Tora-san series became a huge success in Japan and received a National Honor Award in 1996.Naming citation (20090806/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Torasan is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Torasan is 3.27 au from the Sun and 4.23 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 18996 |
| Provisional designation | 2000 RR53 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 22.7 km (#1,883 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0860 |
| Rotation period | 5.23 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 11.8 |
| Orbital period | 5.73 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.20 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 3.10 – 3.30 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0315 |
| Inclination | 20.5° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 2.12 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 4 September 2000
- (19017) Susanlederer
- (20782) Markcroce
- (26653) Amymeyer
- (34366) Rosavestal
- (34397) Rosaliebarber
- (34408) Simonanghel
- (34409) Venturini
- (38827) ter Kuile
- (38828) van 't Leven
- (38829) Vandeputte
- (45846) Avdellidou
- (45847) Gartrelle