(17776) Troska Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 22 March 1998 by P. Pravec at Ondrejov.
Jan Matzal, who used the pseudonym J. M. Troska (1881–1961), was a great Czech writer of adventure science fiction in the 1930s. His greatest work, the trilogy Zápas s nebem (Struggle with the Sky) describes a marvelous journey through the whole inner solar system, including visits to and being marooned on minor planets.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #14, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Troska is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Troska is 2.51 au from the Sun and 2.55 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 17776 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 FF3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.68 km (#11,271 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.126 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.62 |
| Orbital period | 3.92 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.48 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.29 – 2.68 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0799 |
| Inclination | 7.46° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.30 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Jan
- (2308) Schilt
- (3791) Marci
- (3847) Sindel
- (6266) Letzel
- (6834) Hunfeld
- (7218) Skacel
- (7221) Sallaba
- (7701) Zrzavy
- (7849) Janjosefric
- (8149) Ruff
- (9239) van Riebeeck
- (9259) Janvanparadijs
All asteroids named after someone called Jan
Also discovered on 22 March 1998
- (8957) Koujounotsuki
- (9122) Hunten
- (11695) Mattei
- (11696) Capen
- (11704) Gorin
- (12079) Kaibab
- (12084) Unno
- (12496) Ekholm
- (13234) Natashaowen
- (15970) Robertbrownlee
- (17822) Tonireland
- (20315) Dotson