(12053) Turtlestar Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 9 August 1997 by Starkenburg at Heppenheim.
The Turtle Star Observatory, located in Mülheim/Ruhr, Germany, contributed follow-up observations for this object. This private observatory was built in 1995 by A. Boeker, K. Kleemann-Boeker, A. Martin and M. Tator and is named for a neighbor's turtle, which observed the construction with apparent great interest.Naming citation (20000726/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Turtlestar is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Turtlestar is 2.04 au from the Sun and 1.62 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12053 |
| Provisional designation | 1997 PK2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.54 km (#13,861 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.245 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.17 |
| Orbital period | 3.64 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.37 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.03 – 2.71 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.143 |
| Inclination | 6.10° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.01 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Star
All asteroids named after someone called Star