(117757) Waltermassey Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 April 2005 by CSS at Catalina.
Named to honor American physicist and NSF Vannevar Bush Award winner Walter Eugene Massey (b. 1938) for his scientific achievements and service as president of Morehouse College, director of the National Science Foundation, president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and chair of the Giant Magellan Telescope.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #23, 9), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Waltermassey is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Waltermassey is 3.06 au from the Sun and 3.07 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 117757 |
| Provisional designation | 2005 GD59 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.57 |
| Orbital period | 4.60 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.76 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.47 – 3.06 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.108 |
| Inclination | 10.0° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.45 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.