(126888) Tspitzer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 March 2002 by CSS at Catalina.
Thomas J. Spitzer (b. 1957) was the Electrical Power Systems Engineer on more than a dozen Goddard missions, including the highly successful Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that re-mapped the moon, as well as the NASA OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2017-01-12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tspitzer is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tspitzer is 2.26 au from the Sun and 3.26 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 126888 |
| Provisional designation | 2002 EO100 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 4.77 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 16.47 |
| Orbital period | 4.05 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.54 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.24 – 2.85 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.120 |
| Inclination | 7.94° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.23 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