(472054) Tupaia Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 December 2009 by Mt. Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon.
Tupaia (c. 1725–1770) was a navigator and arioi from Raiatea who guided HMS Endeavour during her Pacific voyage. During the 1769 transit of Venus observed from Tahiti, he befriended Joseph Banks, who recommended taking him on board. Tupaia created detailed maps of the Pacific islands, serving as a bridge between European and Polynesian knowledge systems.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #28, 16), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tupaia is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tupaia is 2.25 au from the Sun and 2.59 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 472054 |
| Provisional designation | 2013 YA55 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 1.87 km (#17,174 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0730 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 17.11 |
| Orbital period | 4.22 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.61 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.25 – 2.98 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.139 |
| Inclination | 13.0° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.27 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.