(7244) Villa-Lobos Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 August 1991 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Named in memory of the the well-known Brazilian musician Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), one of the foremost Latin-American composers of the twentieth century. After traveling throughout his country he returned to Rio de Janeiro with a large collection of manuscripts and an intimate knowledge of Afro-Brazilian music. In 1930 he was appointed director of musical education in São Paulo, and in 1945 he founded the Brazilian Academy of Music. His 2000 compositions include operas, ballets, symphonies and pieces for solo instrument. Bachianas brasileiras, one of his most characteristic works, shows the influence of Bach and some of the French composers by his use of contrapuntal techniques applied to themes of Brazilian origin.Naming citation (19961224/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Villa-Lobos is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Villa-Lobos is 2.80 au from the Sun and 1.98 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7244 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 PQ1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.52 km (#7,092 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.258 |
| Rotation period | 35.0 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.05 |
| Orbital period | 4.87 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.87 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.65 – 3.10 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0792 |
| Inclination | 2.61° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.63 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 5 August 1991
- (5444) Gautier
- (5446) Heyler
- (5523) Luminet
- (5595) Roth
- (5597) Warren
- (5833) Peterson
- (5919) Patrickmartin
- (5972) Harryatkinson
- (6726) Suthers
- (7085) Franksienkiewicz
- (20011) Baryshnikov
- (826870) Iancooper