(9951) Tyrannosaurus Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 November 1990 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Tyrannosaurus, a heavy bipedal dinosaur with a huge skull, long massive jaws and dagger-like teeth, was a most terrifying predator. Almost 14 meters long and 5 to 8 meters high, it lived during Upper Cretaceous times.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #15, 6), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tyrannosaurus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tyrannosaurus is 2.30 au from the Sun and 3.26 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9951 |
| Provisional designation | 1990 VK5 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 3.77 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.49 |
| Orbital period | 3.78 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.43 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.13 – 2.72 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.123 |
| Inclination | 7.41° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.11 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 15 November 1990
- (5827) Letunov
- (5966) Tomeko
- (7469) Krikalev
- (7651) Villeneuve
- (8849) Brighton
- (8850) Bignonia
- (9176) Struchkova
- (10092) Sasaki
- (10770) Belo Horizonte
- (10771) Ouro Preto
- (11051) Racine
- (11509) Thersilochos